


Fairy Tales and Battle Reports

by musicman722



Category: RWBY, 碧蓝航线 | Azur Lane (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Family Secrets, Gen, Humor, Misunderstandings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:35:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27081298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicman722/pseuds/musicman722
Summary: Jaune wanted to be a huntsman, a hero like his lineage, not some boring port paper-pusher 'Commander' that his family is pressuring him into. He wants to slay Grimm, but it'll be difficult with no transcripts and a broken sword.Maybe there's something in the basement to help him?
Comments: 20
Kudos: 46





	1. Weigh Anchor to Beacon, but Piracy first

Jaune was not fit to be a Huntsman. He knew that. His family knew that. Everyone did. He didn’t go to a combat school, unaware he needed to until it was too late. He didn’t even have a fancy shotgun-mace-thing to fight with, just a simple hand-me-down sword to practice his swings. No hidden feature or transformation unless one counted the sheath-shield. 

But while he wasn’t legally or academically qualified for a Huntsman academy like Beacon, he was most certainly physically qualified. Case in point as he barrelled down the empty streets of Ansel in the dead of night, his footsteps ringing out like the criminal he’d just become and the dead man he might be if he stopped.

Jaune grabbed a nearby pole and used it to carry his momentum around the corner, not breaking his stride for anything. He heard no sounds of pursuit, but it did little to comfort him after what he just saw. Seeing that he was on a long stretch of road to his destination, Jaune pushed his bruising hand into his pocket and withdrew his scroll. It took a few tries to unlock it, but once he did, he slammed his thumb against a recently added number and put the scroll on speaker. All of this he did, panting as he ran.

After a few rings, a male voice came through. “I knew you said you’d be late, kid, but this is pushing it.”

“Sorry! Sorry,” Jaune said in between breaths, “but it took longer than I thought. Look, just get the engines warmed up and ready to fly.”

“You okay, kid? Sound a bit out of breath.”

“I’m running over there now. Look, I’ll be there in ten. Just start the ship.” Jaune hung up and shoved the scroll back in his pocket. With his free hand, he adjusted the shifting duffel bag slung over his shoulder, moving it so it didn’t hinder his movements.

His lungs burned as he pushed on, screaming for him to stop, but he couldn’t. After what he just did, Jaune didn’t think he could even force himself to stop running. It took a lot of willpower and a healthy dose of fear to not look back, but he was almost home free. 

The moment he passed the last building on the street, Jaune could see the lights of the airport runways in the distance. With his goal in sight, a second wind surged through him and he pushed his way to the fence. Upon reaching it, Jaune unslung his bag and tossed it across, landing it with a muffled thump in the grass. He jumped next, grabbing as high as he could into the chain link fence.

“If I get out of here, I’m never complaining about basic training again,” Jaune muttered as he climbed, the wires digging into his skin. Gripping the top bar, he gave one last heave and pulled himself up and over, landing on the grass with as much grace as his bag did. “Ugh, I still don’t get how they stick the landings. Freaking cats, all of them.” Pushing himself off the ground, Jaune grabbed his duffel and kept running.

As he approached the hangar, he could hear the sound of Dust engines rumbling, and though his legs were screaming at him to stop, Jaune pushed a little bit harder for the home stretch. When he entered the hangar, Jaune could see the pilot in the cockpit and the side door of the transport open. Freedom in sight! Jaune scrambled over to the door and ignored the stairs in favor of leaping in head first.

“I’m in!” he shouted up at the cockpit, banging his fist on the floor in case he couldn’t be heard over the engines. But he was, if the door closing was any indication. The second it locked shut, Jaune could feel the ship rumble as it moved, and a minute later he could feel the pressure of take off.

He could also feel his stomach grumble its displeasure at the whole sensation.

Jaune groaned and dug into his bag to pull out a small bag of air-sickness pills. It felt surprisingly light, and he soon saw why. “Crap, I forgot to buy more. I’ll need to get some in Vale.” He popped the last in his mouth and crawled over to a small fold-out seat in the wall. It took longer than it should have to sit down, partly due to his muscles slowly responding in pain, the rest from attempting to not upset his stomach, but once he buckled in, Jaune let out a long sigh of relief. 

This was it. He was going to Beacon. He would become a huntsman and live up to the family legacy. No more looks of disappointment. No more “you’re fine as you are” sentiments. He was going to make something of himself. After all, what else was he going to use all that basic training for? Carrying boxes off and onto ships? Being a harbor master was not in his destiny, if the family books were any indication. 

Jaune pulled his duffel bag closer and grabbed the new sword hilt sticking out of the main pocket. Pulling it out of his bag, he winced upon seeing a large, shallow dent in the sheath. “Damn, I must’ve hit harder than I thought. Or vampires aren’t as strong as people say they are.” Jaune shuddered as he recalled the blood-red eyes and sharp fangs standing so close behind him. He then gently pulled his new sword out of the scabbard. 

It was an arming sword, just like the hand-me-down he was given, Crocea Mors, but it looked like someone dyed the blade black with a red tint towards the tip and gilded the cross guard with turquoise gems. The blade itself was a bit narrower towards the tip than Crocea Mors, giving the blade an almost elegant look. To be frank, it looked like an art piece out of some historical fantasy, but Jaune had tested the blade before he had to run. He barely had to touch it before it drew blood.

There was no name for it, at least none that Jaune could find in the old family books, but it existed since his great great grandfather’s time. According to the books, it was once a Duke’s sword, gifted to his ancestors around the Great War. 

“But why were you in the basement and not over the fireplace?” Jaune muttered to himself as he turned the sword around in his palm. A small part of him worried about leaving the vampire he encountered back in the basement with his family, but another reassured him that if the vampire was there before then perhaps it could not leave. It certainly didn’t try to follow him.

However, as much as he wanted to ponder the mystery, he could feel the fatigue settling into his muscles, and his eyelids were getting harder to keep open. Putting the sword back into the sheath, he set his weapon back into his bag next to the wrapped broken pieces of Crocea Mors and then settled in as best he could to get some shut-eye. 

*****

It was barely the afternoon since he left, and Jaune was about to do something stupid. Illegal stupid. But it was his best chance at getting into Beacon, so it wasn’t that stupid. Just illegal.

At least, that’s what Jaune reassured himself with as he walked the streets of downtown Vale. Surprisingly, the downtown area was pretty clean, not at all like the dingy, crime-ridden city underbelly his comics had led him to believe. Oh, there were still quite a few sketchy people about, but they were mostly hobos and drunks shuffling between the alleys. A few times, Jaune had to recheck his scroll to make sure he was in the right place, but the message he received stayed the same.

_ “Go to The Den. Ask for Junior. Order a ‘Fudge Sundae Special’. Bring cash.” _

He had only stopped earlier in the morning for a few cups of coffee and a big breakfast so greasy, it’d make certain maids faint at the thought of the stains, but eventually Jaune arrived. And with a few hours to spare, no less. Not bad considering his legs still felt a bit wobbly after last night’s sprint. 

Jaune looked down at his scroll once more and then back up at the building across the street. “There it is.” He took a deep breath. “Go in. Get the forgeries. Get out. Little bit of confidence. Don’t do anything stupid. Yeah, I got this.” Pep talk in mind, Jaune crossed the empty street and entered the club.

The door swung shut as Jaune balked at the heavily damaged interior of the club. Jaune had heard of bar fights, but really it looked more like a cluster of bombs went off in here the more he surveyed the damage. Were bar fights held to a higher standard of destruction in the kingdom proper? 

“Outta the way, kid.” Jaune snapped back to reality and jumped aside as a pair of well-dressed goons lugged a large debris container past him. They were hardly the only ones either. Almost a dozen other men like them were scattered about the place cleaning up broken bits of glass and replacing broken electronics. More than a few looked at Jaune funny, and Jaune could see a couple fingering the axes at their belts, but they stayed in their spots with dustbins in hand. Aside from them, Jaune could see no other people except for a pair of girls sitting at the bar area, unsurprising given that it was too early for partying.

_ ‘Don’t stop. Little bit of confidence,’ _ he repeated in his mind as he walked down the stairs and headed for the bar, sidestepping a few piles of debris.

As he got closer, he could see the girls had their backs towards him, but they were dressed in almost mirror image, except for color. Thigh high boots, lacy dresses that barely went up or down their bodies, and puffy fur scarves. The red girl had a short bob cut while the white girl had hair flowing past her shoulders.

Jaune cleared his throat. “Excuse me. Do you know where I can find Junior?”

The girls turned around, and Jaune could see why they wore matching clothes. They were twins. Smokingly beautiful twins who were now eyeing him up and down. Jaune couldn’t tell if they were assessing him as a threat or if he was a piece of meat. It felt vaguely familiar, but Jaune couldn’t place the feeling.

“Someone’s certainly bold,” the red one said.

“Yeah, who walks into a criminal den in broad daylight?” the white one replied.

“I meant more about wearing a hoodie under metal armor, but that’s a fair point too.”

Jaune glanced down at his clothes. The colors didn’t clash and it was certainly more comfortable than wearing the armor directly. He shrugged. “Feels fine to me.”

“Well, if you’re ever uncomfortable, feel free to take it off,” the red one suggested with a salacious smirk.

Jaune felt blood rise to his cheeks, though some of it went a bit south. And here, Jaune thought he would be immune to this with all the girls he grew up around. At least he was able to keep eye contact and not look at her bosom while she laughed at his misfortune. Okay, he peeked once. Not bad.

The girl in white was less amused by it, rolling her eyes. “You don’t even know his name and you’re already trying to get into his pants. How classy.”

The red sister stopped laughing and swatted at her. “I was getting to that. Don’t be such a bitch because you can’t get any with your high standards.” Her smile returned. “Sorry about that. Melanie can be a real prude sometimes. I’m Miltia, by the way.” The vague familiar feeling grew a bit stronger. Had he seen them before?

“Jaune. Jaune Arc.” He tried to give his best smile, but it was hard to do as he was trying to suppress his current blushing and keep his eyes above her chin. 

“So what brings you here, Jaune?” Melanie asked. “You don’t look like the usual junkies that wander in.” She sniffed the air. “Definitely don’t smell like one either.”

“I would hope not,” Miltia said. “Smokers make for terrible kissers.” She puckered her lips and winked at Jaune.

“I-I’m just here to order something from Junior, that’s all,” Jaune said, his blush rising once more. “Is he around?”

The twins exchanged glances, and Melanie spoke first, “Junior’s a bit... indisposed right now. He’s nursing a bit of a hangover.”

“And no offense,” Miltia said, “but he’s not really keen on talking to blondes right now.” Her eyes shifted off to the side of him. “The last one was a bit rowdy.”

Jaune looked around the room once more. A stage light stand keeled over somewhere. “Oh.”

“Mmmhmm.”

“This isn’t a usual thing for you, is it?”

Militia shook her head. “We don’t usually get blonde bimbo wannabe-huntresses. I doubt we’d last long if we did.”

“So while Junior’s out,” Melanie said, “It looks like it’s up to us to service you.”

Miltia giggled. “Oh, I’m sure he’d  _ love _ that.”

“Could you keep your mind out of the gutter for five minutes, Miltia?” Melanie huffed.

“I could, but I’m afraid of losing all my color and being dull like you.”

“Oh, you bitch!”

“Ha! Call me something new!”

Jaune quickly stepped in. “Hey, there’s no need to fig-” But the twins were not jumping at each other’s throats, rather they stared at Jaune with amused looks. He sighed. “How do you two function as sisters?” There was that feeling once more, it felt like the answer was closer now, on the edge of his memory.

“We’re twins,” they said in unison. Miltia’s eyes sparkled with mirth and passion while Melanie’s held a cold amusement.

A memory finally clicked in with the feeling. Before Jaune could give a second thought, he blurted out. “Are you two fox faunuses by any chance?” Great. Way to sound like a racist if they were.

Thankfully, the question didn’t bother the girls so much as surprise them. They shared a bemused look between each other before looking back at Jaune.

“What an oddly specific question,” Melanie said. “But no, we’re not.”

“Ooh, do you have a thing for pretty fox girls?” Miltia asked. “Is it the ears or the tails? Asking for future reference.”

Jaune quickly waved his arms. “No. No, I didn’t mean it like that. You two just reminded me of an old fairy tale my aunt told me.” He shook his head. “Nevermind, forget I said anything. Can I just make my order?”  _ ‘And get out before I say something really stupid.’ _

But it was too late. Jaune could see the twin’s expressions spark with interest and curiosity.  _ ‘Me and my big mouth.’ _

“I dunno,” Miltia said, sliding off her barstool. “I’m a little distracted right now. I might forget. Melanie, can you take his order?”

“I could.” Melanie stood up as well.

_ ‘Please.’ _

Miltia rolled her eyes. “ _ Will _ you take it?”

Melanie’s eyes must have seen the pleading look on his face, because her smile turned mischievous. “Not until I hear this story of his.”

_ ‘Damn it.’ _ Jaune sighed. He should have known it was futile. Sisters always seemed to gang up on him for their amusement, regardless of blood relation. “I’m not getting out of this, am I?”

“It’s not every day you hear stories about yourself,” Miltia said, taking one of Jaune’s arms and leading him to a back door.

“You’re probably going to have to wait anyways when we take your order, so you might as well entertain us in the meantime,” Melanie said as she followed close behind.

Not even a day away from home and Jaune already felt like he never left. 

*****

“I’m going to keelhaul that boy over every ship in port!”

No one in the room dared to disagree with North Carolina, not when they could all see the vampire-esque Duke of York laying on the couch with an ice pack on the side of her head. One of the Royal Maid girls had happened across her as Duke had not been in her usual quarters, and thus went looking for her. But it was past morning now and far too late. Jaune was missing, as was both his training sword, travel bag, and now Duke’s sword. 

“I can’t believe he did this!” Carolina said as she angrily paced around the room. “Oh, he is going to be so grounded when I find him!”

Duke waved a free hand. “Thou shouldn’t be so hard on the boy. Twas I who loomed over him like a grimm spectre, intent on frightening him. Thus, it was my folly to not account for his quick reflex to possible danger.” She chuckled. “Were it not for mine own, I dare say he might have taken my head. A pity I was not quick enough to avoid this headache.”

“At least something came out of his training,” Sheffield said as she replaced the ice pack with a fresh one. “Shame that he didn’t pick up some sense.”

“But why?” Carolina asked the room, her visage turned from angry to worried. “Why would he leave like this? Was it something I said? Was it something I did?” Her fingers fretfully wrung through her golden locks. “Why now, of all times?”

“It’s not your fault, ma’am,” Suffolk said, standing off to the side. “None of us expected this.” She took Carolina by the arm and led her to one of the chairs. “We should have kept a better eye on him.”

“No, no, it is my fault,” Carolina said as she sat down. “I should’ve seen it. He was getting restless and I took it for enthusiasm in his training. I hoped he would’ve grown out of that Huntsman business nonsense, but I must’ve encouraged it by mistake. I should never have gotten him that sword.”

Huntsman this, huntsman that. It was all Jaune talked about the past few years, now that she thought about it. And then he must’ve mistook his training for their acceptance of it. Foolishness. Both on him and her. Good Lord, she could use a good distraction right about now. 

Thankfully, one came as the door opened to reveal Samuel Arc, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair cut short and neat. His green eyes spoke of experience, but were strong like an officer. He wore a blue sailor’s uniform but it clung to him a bit haphazardly, parts soaked in sweat from running around town. Out of breath, his eyes locked onto Carolina first before meeting the others.

“Alright, I’ve got good news and bad news,” he said. “Good news is, we know which way he went.”

Carolina shot out of her seat, a wild look in her eyes. “Where did he go?” Her body was coiled, ready to spring out the door with a heading, but Samuel placed his hands on her shoulders and firmly gripped her.

“Carol, listen to me,” he said soothingly, “You can’t go rushing off after him.”

Carolina flinched as if struck, and then scowled. “And why the hell not?”

“Because the bad news is, he went by air, not sea. There’s a good chance he’s probably already landed and moved on elsewhere.” 

Carolina cursed up a storm that would make a sailor blush. She only stopped and spun around to glare at the laughing Duke of York. “What’s so funny?”

“Dearest Carolina, thou truly underestimates thine child-rearing capabilities. Young Jaune has certainly proven he has potential if he was able to fool and escape thee. Aside from mine intervention, he planned his escape well if none of us took notice. I dare say he might make a fine Huntsman.”

“But he’s not supposed to!” Carolina stamped her foot. “He’s supposed to stay here with us! You know that.”

Samuel cleared his throat. “Carol-“

Carolina spun back around. “Don’t you take her side too!”

Samuel shook his head. “I’m just as worried as you are about him.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ here.”

“But this may be a good experience for Jaune. The chances of him getting into an Academy are slim without transcripts and he doesn’t have the experience to pass the entry exam, even if he went to Vacuo.”

“What are you getting at? That we should just let him gallivant off, pretending to be a Huntsman?”

“I’m saying that this is a chance for Jaune to spread his wings, and when he falls, we will be there to support him. He’s not a little boy anymore. He’s a young adult who can make his own mistakes.”

Carolina sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’re right. I’ve coddled Jaune too much and now he wants out.” It felt like it was only yesterday that she could carry Jaune in her arms. “You know, you still didn’t tell me where he went.”

Samuel raised an eyebrow. “If I tell you, you’re going to run off after him.”

Damn it, how does he do that? Carolina pouted and poked his chest. “Fine, but if he doesn’t call back by tomorrow, I’m sending out some of the girls to search for him.”

Samuel chuckled. “Give Jaune a little credit. I’m sure it’d take much longer for him to do something reckless.”

*****

It was official. Jaune was in the deep end and no amount of swimming was going to save him from the two sharks staring down at him.

The brown-and-pink colored shark sat on his chest like he was a fresh catch while the taller, bowler hat wearing shark looked at him like he was a pile of money.

“So, kid,” the man said, puffing on his cigar, “I hear you’re looking for a forgery.”


	2. Black Market Tuition

Jaune was pretty sure he was in big trouble. Rather, much more than he was this morning. He wasn’t even sure what happened to dump him here. One minute he was chatting with the two foxy twins, and the next thing he knew he was grabbed and then dumped into another room onto his back. Was he teleported? Did the girl sitting on him have something to do with that?

More importantly, couldn’t they have waited a few more seconds? Miltia was about to give him her scroll number. He hoped she didn’t think he bounced on her.

“Well, kid?” the man with the cigar said. “You want a forgery or not? I have a lot of important things to do so don’t waste my time looking like an idiot at me.” He poked his cane into the side of Jaune’s face.

“Yeah, I’m looking for a forgery.” Jaune swatted at the cane, but it danced away from his hands and poked him in the chest. “Can I get up?” The man waved his hand and the girl hopped off of him. “Do you treat all your customers like this?”

“Just the ones we can score big on. Most don’t even make a face to face meeting.”

Jaune had a sinking feeling he messed up, but it was too late to turn back now. He couldn’t even see an exit, much less probably reach one if he tried to run. “Wow, I feel so honored,” he deadpanned.

But the man ignored him. “You should. Cops would kill to get a chance to meet me.” He posed, gesturing at his own glory.

“Uh huh. So, who are you?”

The question poked a hole into the man’s ego, his posture deflating, and unhelped at all by the girl’s silent giggling. Was she mute? The man smacked Jaune’s head with his cane. 

“Roman Torchwick, you uncultured ass! The Gentleman Thief of Vale! Have you been living under a rock?!”

Jaune rubbed the growing welt on his head. “More like on a ship, really. I live outside of Vale. Only important news we get are weather updates and Grimm reports.” Most of the news was handled by his parents anyways.

Roman facepalmed. Neo clutched her sides in silent laughter.

“Just…” Roman hissed out, “what kind of forgery do you want, kid?”

“Transcripts. Good enough to get into Beacon.” A part of Jaune felt bad for lying to get into school, but it was drowned out by necessity. Homeschooling didn’t exactly come with transcripts.

Roman raised an eyebrow. “Beacon, huh? That’s a high bar to get in, kid. Sure you don’t want to try for an easier school, like Shade or Haven?”

Jaune shook his head. It had to be Beacon. The best school put out the best heroes.

Roman smirked. “Suit yourself, but it’s gonna be extra. On top of getting it turned in before the closing date…. I hope you got the money for it.”

“I saved up.”

Roman told him the price.

Jaune did not save nearly enough for this. 

His mouth felt dry as he asked, “I don’t suppose you’re open to negotiation?” Was it just him or did Roman look more shark-like?

“I’m  _ so _ glad you asked,” Roman said, swinging his cane around. The crook of it came around Jaune’s neck and pulled him forward towards Roman, who wrapped an arm around Jaune’s shoulders. “Why don’t we get down to brass tacks then? I could take your money, and then rake you over the coals for the rest with incredible interest, but I do that to just about any random Joe on the streets that wants something. No, you have something way more valuable that I want.”

Jaune’s eyes widened. “My sword? But I need that!”

Roman opened his mouth, but then he looked down at Jaune’s waist. “Not quite what I was going to say, but now you have my attention. Very fancy, too.”

“Wait, hold on- augh!” Jaune tried to pull away, but quickly found his arms twisted and pinned to his back by the girl. He tried to struggle out of her grip but it only ended up in worse pain. How was someone so small this strong? Jaune was pretty sure he could bench press her.

“Thank you, Neo,” Roman said as his hands went for the sword. “Nothing personal, kid. I just can’t resist the sight of-” his words cut off with a yelp and a crash as he was suddenly pulled to the floor. 

Jaune saw Roman now bent over in a heap at his feet. The sword and scabbard would lay flat on the floor were it not for Roman’s hands beneath them. Said hands he was now trying to pull out from beneath them but to no avail. It looked almost ridiculous to watch, not that Jaune would say that out loud. “You okay?”

Roman glared up at him, but the effect was lost partly to him needing to crane his head back to do it. “Peachy. Neo, give me a hand here.”

Jaune felt his arms be released and was pushed aside as the girl crouched down to grab the hilt. She pulled and pulled, but the sword did not budge from atop Roman’s hands. Even a minute of work went in vain, but curiously, Roman’s fingers weren’t crushed despite the supposed weight to it. 

“What the hell is this thing made out of?” Roman panted out.

Jaune shrugged. “Steel, I think?” He reached down and picked it up, sending Roman rolling back from the sudden lack of resistance. Yep, same weight as always. He buckled it back to his belt.

Roman rubbed his fingers as he stood up. “Cute trick, kid,” he grumbled out. “You could’ve at least mentioned you needed a super strength semblance to pick it up.”

_ ‘What the heck is a semblance?’ _ Jaune wondered as he smiled nervously back. “Yeah, my semblance is picking up heavy swords. You got me. Ha ha.”

Roman stared at him. “I guess when you hit maximum realization, you’ll be able to carry buildings huh?”

Jaune felt a mix of panic and joy. He had no idea what Roman was saying, but hearing that Huntsmen powers could grow that strong? He couldn’t help but get excited. “I’ll probably just carry bigger swords or something.”

Roman’s eyes deadpanned at him. “Cut the crap, kid. None of that was true. You don’t know the first thing about semblances, do you?”

Jaune sighed and hung his head. “No. No I don’t.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but do you even know what aura is?”

Jaune said nothing, but in doing so, it said everything.

Roman facepalmed. “Of course you don’t.”

Jaune threw his hands up in defense. “I was homeschooled! No one ever mentioned anything about aura or semblances.” Plenty of things about history, sailing, and other subjects. Jaune racked his brain for any memory of the words, but came up short. “Why? Is it important?”

“Important?” Roman chuckled at first but it quickly went into full blown laughter. When he managed to calm himself down enough, he said, “Kid, you wouldn’t last five minutes at Beacon without your aura unlocked.”

Oh. That….that was a problem.

“Then, can you unlock it for me?” Jaune asked, almost begging.

Roman swung up his cane to push Jaune back out of his personal space. “Hey now, I don’t do charity work, and you’re still going to have to pay for the forgeries before that. So how about I cut you a deal? I’m willing to give you the forgeries at a discounted price for something only you can provide.” He poked Jaune’s chest with his cane.

“Do you still want my sword?” Jaune’s hand grasped the scabbard tightly.

“Keep it. No one’s going to pay for something like that.” Roman scowled. “No, what I wanted from you originally was a favor.”

Jaune blinked. “Just that? What, you need someone to change the tires of your getaway car or something?” Awfully small thing to ask in return, but who was he to complain for good fortune?

Roman just smiled. “Sure. Let’s call it something like that. I just want to be able to call in said favor whenever I need it.”

Jaune narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going to do anything illegal for you.”

“Kid, you’re already doing something illegal, what’s a bit more on top?” 

“I mean nothing that involves hurting other people.” Fraud was one thing, but assault? Not on his life.

Roman waved his hand. “Please, hurting people is Neo’s job.” The aforementioned girl smiled and twirled her umbrella. “Hate to break it to you, but I doubt you could pull the trigger of a water gun on a bush fire.”

Jaune wasn’t sure if he should have felt offended or relieved. “What about the aura unlocking? How much will that cost?”

“Your soul.”

The way he said it so nonchalantly made Jaune wonder if he heard him right. “Say what now?”

Roman nodded. “You heard me. Had you known about it, you’d know that whoever unlocks your aura owns it forever.”

Jaune’s eyes went wide. Was this something that every huntsman did? And here he was about to give it to Roman of all people? What was he- Jaune’s eyes refocused as a wheezing sound reached his ears. Upon seeing the source, his initial panic was replaced with a mix of shame and embarrassment. “Ha ha, very funny.”

Roman was nearly bent over double, shaking with laughter while Neo leaned on him for support, wiping a tear from her eye. “I can’t believe you fell for that! You really know nothing about aura. Oh man, I needed that after this week.”

Jaune waited until the laughing was over before asking, “So what does it really cost?”

“Not much. Just someone with aura to give you a pat on the back, say some magic words, and use a bit of their aura to open yours. But since you won’t have enough money after those forgeries, let’s chalk this one up to another favor, hmm?” His smug grin was getting more punchable by the second, not that Jaune thought he could get away with it, but it was nice to imagine. 

“Sure, why not?” The sooner he was out of here, the better.

“Great! Neo, if you wouldn’t mind?”

The multi-colored short stack skipped up to Jaune, grabbed his collar, and pulled him down with surprising strength before placing a hand on his chest. She began to mouth out words and her palm began to glow. Jaune tried to lip read some of the words, but Neo spoke too quickly for him to grasp anything. 

After what seemed like a few sentences, her hand stopped glowing, but Jaune felt no different except for feeling a bit chilled and his mouth tasting like sugar.

“Was that it?” he asked. 

Neo’s face turned to bewilderment, and then into a frown. She cast a glare at her hand and then began silently chanting again. Her hand glowed once more, but nothing happened.

“Am I supposed to feel something from this?”

Roman looked up at the two of them from his scroll. “Neo, what’s taking you so long?”

Neo turned back and began making gestures.

“What do you mean it’s too heavy? Aura doesn’t have weight.”

More gestures, a few of which didn’t look like they meant anything.

“Look, if you don’t want to admit you don’t know how to unlock someone’s aura, that’s fine.” A few rude-looking gestures were swiftly made. “Hey, language! Just for that, you can forget getting another pint of that limited edition ice cream you wanted.”

Neo’s face blanched like she was told her parents were killed. She waggled her arms pleadingly, but Roman stayed stalwart. 

“Unlock his aura first, then we can discuss it. Now shoo. I got forgeries to make.” Roman went back to tapping at his scroll.

Neo stamped her foot, almost on Jaune’s, but she took Jaune’s collar and clicked her heels together. The room vanished and was replaced with the room he was originally taken from, exactly as he left it, including the twins still sitting on the couch.

“Look who’s back,” Miltia said with a grin. “Did you miss me?”

“Oh hey, you survived,” Melanie said, only glancing up from her scroll.

Jaune waved back. “Hey, I don’t suppose you two know anything about how to unlock aura, do you?”

***

The twins did know how to unlock it as they had an aura of their own. However, unlocking his proved to be another challenge. When Jaune explained the situation, Miltia stepped up and gave it a shot.

“For it is together that we thrive. Two sides of a coin, both with their task. Through this we tighten our bond and make ourselves stronger. I release your soul, and make you complete.”

While the chant itself was nice, Jaune still felt no different. Well, he did feel warmer as Miltia pressed herself close for her chant, but no aura unlocked. So Melanie gave it a shot after a comment of being the better twin. It didn’t work either. After breaking up their squabble, Neo got the idea to use multiple people.

“So why didn’t it work?” Jaune asked the girls as they dug into their bowls of ice cream. After all the effort they had put in, he seemed it was only fair to treat them. Neo certainly appreciated it after getting an extra scoop out of him. Plus, it wasn’t long before the twins had to work.

Neo just shrugged and kept eating, while sneaking bites out of all the others when she could.

“Beats me,” Melanie said. “Can’t say I’ve ever met someone who’s aura felt like yours.”

“But what does that even mean?” It seemed so simple, but why was unlocking his so complicated?

“What she’s trying to say is,” Miltia piped up, after licking her spoon, “everyone’s auras are different, just like their semblances. When we pushed our auras into yours to try to draw it out, what did they feel like?”

Jaune racked his memories over the chanting moments. They were right, he had felt something, but it didn’t quite register at the time. “I felt cold and sweet.” He pointed at Neo. “Warm and energetic.” Miltia. “Cool and calm” Melanie. “So what did mine feel like?”

“Big,” said Miltia.

“Hard,” said Melanie.

Neo made a motion like lifting something heavy.

Jaune blinked. “We’re still talking about my aura, right?”

Miltia smirked. “Maybe. Why? Do you have something else that’s big?” She took another bite of her ice cream but slowly licked it off the spoon. How did she make something so cold look so hot?

Melanie glowered at him and smacked her boot against his leg. “Don’t encourage her.”

Jaune felt himself blush and he shook his head. “I wasn’t!” He tried to divert the conversation by taking another bite of his ice cream, but found his spoon hitting the table. “What?” He looked down to see his bowl gone, taken by the two-toned troublemaker next to him, gazing back at him with false, smug innocence.

She worked for a thief. Why was he even surprised?

*****

There were a lot of papers covering the desk, many of which needed to be read and filed soon, but the only thing North Carolina could focus on was the scroll in front of her. Her fingers drummed the desk as she glared at the device, daring it to make a sound. It’d been over a day since Jaune ran off and so far she only received three calls: one from Spruce, the mayor of Ansel, inviting her to a community potluck; the other two from spam callers asking about her car insurance. She didn’t even own a car!

A knock rapped on the door.

“Enter.”

The door swung open and Sheffield entered, carrying a tray with a large mug of tea. 

“No response, my lady?” She set the tray on the edge of the desk and put the mug in front of North Carolina.

“No,” she said curtly. Her eyes flashed with realization. “Sorry, Sheffield. It’s just been a long day.” The aroma of citrus from the tea soothed some of Carolina’s nerves. Perhaps a drink would be a good idea.

“I know. You’ve hardly eaten, my lady.”

Had she? She remembered having lun- wait, no that was when the Mayor called. Well, her breakfast was hearty. If one counted a couple of eggs and toast as hearty. 

Her stomach disagreed. Loudly.

Blushing, Carolina said, “Well, I think I have some-“

“If you say ‘rations’, then by God and Belfast, I will drag you to the mess hall and shove food down your throat.” Sheffield’s eyes flashed dangerously.

“-chips. I was going to say chips.” Carolina leaned away from the maid’s intense gaze. “I’m not Enterprise.”

“I’ll have Suffolk make you a sandwich.” Sheffield’s tone brooked no argument. Carolina may run the base, but Sheffield commanded the home. 

One sandwich later, Sheffield took up the plate and cup onto her tray. “What do you plan to do?” 

Carolina sighed. “I don’t know. I still can’t reach him. He hasn’t called or responded to anything. Every second longer he’s out there, he could get hurt or worse. Samuel’s right, Jaune needs to grow, but he doesn’t need to be a huntsman to do that.” 

“Might I make a suggestion, my lady?” At Carolina’s nod, Sheffield continued, “Samuel’s idea is not without merit. We may not be at war now, but it would not hurt to have Jaune go out and experience the world. How many people outside of the base does he really know?”

Carolina tried to answer that, but nothing really came up. He was more or less confined to the base, barring vacations. His sisters got out more than he did. One was already off and married with a stepchild. 

“However, you are also right,” Sheffield said. “Jaune is too important to the base to get hurt. I propose sending a reconnaissance team to sortie and make sure he stays out of trouble. Bring him home if necessary.”

Ah, surveillance. If Jaune was going to be stubborn about leaving home, then there was no harm in her being stubborn about keeping an eye on him. “I assume you want to lead this sortie?” 

“Yes, my lady.” 

Carolina raised an eyebrow. “Because of what he did to Duke of York?”

Sheffield had enough shame to blush a bit. “I do have a few choice words to share with Master Jaune about that.”

Carolina knew she shouldn’t, but Sheffield was the best at discretion, and Jaune did need a bit of scolding. “Do you even know where to start looking?”

“I already looked into the airfield matter. Jaune left for Vale. I have some contacts there to keep an eye out for him.” 

Carolina’s eyes widened. “Vale?” Carolina jumped out of her seat and pulled a small journal off of one of the bookshelves lining the wall. She flipped through the pages until she reached a certain one and read its contents. She cursed to herself. Peacetime had made her sloppy. “Change of plans. You leave immediately. Take whoever you need to bring Jaune home. If he’s still adamant on becoming a huntsman, then make sure he doesn’t go to Beacon. Ozpin must not get his hands on him, much less find out Jaune is looking to be a Huntsman.”

*****

Though the city slept, a man in his tower stared at the screen in front of him.

He sipped at his coffee, reading the files of the latest applicant. This one had appeared mere minutes before the closing time. Procrastination was not a good quality when it came to prospective huntsmen. But, it was another young soul ready to face the constant threat of the Grimm so Ozpin figured he might at least see if he was Beacon quality.

Besides, sleep was for mortals and coffee was his divine ambrosia.

The transcripts looked fine. High scores across the board, enough to warrant a recruiter’s attention. No semblance, but not everyone finds theirs before Beacon so that was little issue. Sword and Shield were a classic style not seen often nowadays with most weapons having a ranged option. It was strong in the right situations. Overall, it looked perfect.

A shame it was a fake.

Whoever forged this was good, but they couldn’t have known that the name tipped Ozpin off.

A smile danced on Ozpin’s lips while his fingers danced on the keyboard. Within seconds, a large, green  _ ‘APPROVED’ _ covered the file.

“Welcome to Beacon, Jaune Arc.” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't wait another week to update this so have it early. 
> 
> Yes, there will be more factions available, at least the main 4 (5 if you count both French fleets separately), and there are so, SO many shenanigans i have in place. They are not nearly as idle in Remnant as they are in the game. I'm sure many of you are wondering about the shipping (shut up, Yang) because of both fandoms, and all I will say is don't expect "Hurr durr OP Jaune x Every girl", but do expect some ship pairings like Cleveland and Helena should they show up. We'll get to the relationships eventually.
> 
> Please leave comments. I love to read them!
> 
> Malachite Twin's aura chant is by fellow Neo fan, Vin. It's a chant both the twins use.


	3. New Friends and Old Maids

Jaune felt like he was on a whirlwind of emotions. 

He was excited that his transcripts, albeit fake, were accepted and that he was on his way to achieving his dream. He felt anxious, unsure how to explain his lack of aura to the teachers should they ask. But most of all, he felt sick to his stomach from the air shuttle ride. 

Of course Jaune had to have forgotten to buy more air sickness pills. It was taking every ounce of will to keep his stomach together and his mind off the sway of the air shuttle. Why did it have to be by air? Why was there no bus? Roads worked fine. Sure there might be Grimm around, but wasn’t the point of coming to the academy to learn how to fight them?

On the bright side, the shuttle was almost there. He could see the dock now. So long as he stayed still and nothing happened, he would be fine.

The whole ship jolted as it made contact with the dock, starting an extremely short countdown on Jaune’s stomach. Luckily, there was a trashcan near the exit.

_ Urp! BLEERRGH! _

“Oh god! Gross!”

“Wow, that’s a lot of upchuck.”

“How did this guy get into Beacon?”

Guess he should add a double order of embarrassment to the pile now. So much for first impressions.

***

It took a bit longer than Jaune would care to admit to get onto solid ground, but having a vacated stomach helped quell his remaining nausea. At least most of the other students had already gone ahead, so no more embarrassment to deal with either

Leaving his bag with the baggage handlers, Jaune strolled down the walkway towards Beacon, taking in the majesty of the school. It was bigger than he expected. Fancier too. Pictures on the internet didn’t really do it justice. People said that a lot of great Huntsmen and Huntresses came out of Beacon, and the school certainly exuded an aura of heroic legacies. It was even built like a castle, and if Jaune could help it, it would be where he would be knighted. Just like the King Arthur stories Renown used to tell him.

_ Boom! _

Jaune’s eyes snapped forward to see a group of girls arguing. A girl in red, a girl in white, and a girl in black. No one looked hurt, but words were certainly being thrown around and the white one’s temper was flaring. From the looks of it, she was accusing the other two of rummaging through her bags. School hadn’t even started and here was a problem he was familiar with. 

But before he could step in and save the day, both the girl in white and the girl in black walked off in opposite directions, leaving the red one to sulk on the ground. Well, one out of three wasn’t bad. He jogged up to the red hooded girl and held out a hand to help her up. 

“Hi. I’m Jaune.”

The girl sat up and smiled with appreciation. “Ruby,” she said as she took his hand. Upon standing up, her eyes flashed with recognition and she snickered. “Aren’t you the guy that threw up on the ship?”

Jaune grimaced. “I don’t do well with flying, alright? Would it be too much to ask for you to forget that?”

“I dunno, Vomit Boy. You kinda threw up a lot. Did you eat breakfast before getting on?” 

“Oh yeah? Did you eat something explosive a minute ago, Crater Face?”

“Hey, that was not my fault!” Ruby jabbed a finger at him. “That princess- heiress- whatever she was, she was shaking her Dust in my face. I couldn’t help sneezing! How was I supposed to know that Dust could be triggered by that?” 

“Seriously?” Jaune stifled a chuckle. “How about we call it even between us and not talk about this again?” 

Ruby gave an embarrassed smile. “Deal.”

The two of them strolled down the walkway towards the school. Ruby seemed to know where she was going, so he followed her lead. In the meantime, Jaune figured it’d be best to strike up a conversation. She was going to be his future classmate after all. 

_ ‘But what do I talk about with a cute girl?’ _ His eyes stole glances at Ruby a few times until he picked up something. “So-“

“So-“ Ruby started with him, but startled upon hearing the echo. “Oh! Sorry! You go first.”

Jaune waved a hand.“You’re fine. I was kinda going to ask a dumb question. Ladies first.”

“Nope! I was gonna ask something dumb too. You first.”

They went back and forth for a bit until Jaune brought up using Rock Paper Scissors, the loser getting to ask their dumb question first. Best two out of three. Much to Jaune’s surprise, he lost. Ruby was really quick on the draw.

“Crap. Okay, dumb question here, but how old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

“Really? I thought you had to at least be seventeen to attend Beacon.”

Ruby glanced aside. “Well, I might have gotten in a couple years early by stopping a Dust robbery. I guess it impressed the Headmaster enough to let me in.”

“What’d you do? Use puppy dog eyes and ask politely?” Jaune asked jokingly.

“Nope! I used this.” Ruby reached behind her, and from a red, unassuming box, she unfolded it into a massive scythe as big as her. “Say hello to Crescent Rose, my precious war scythe slash high impact, high velocity, customizable sniper rifle. Built this baby back at Signal. Which brings me to my dumb question: I got this, what’s your weapon?”

To say that Jaune had feelings of inadequacy would be an understatement. “I got a sword. And a scabbard that turns into a shield. Didn’t really make mine so much as it was a family heirloom. Supposed to be from some Duke that lived during the Great War.” That much was true at least. He still wasn’t sure what to make of the vampire he encountered, and since said vampire hadn’t shown up yet to reclaim the weapon, Jaune wondered if he imagined it. He tried to put on a confident smile, but his eyes kept jumping back to the massive weapon.

Ruby must’ve picked up on his distress, because her expression turned to shock. “Oh jeez, I did it again. Ah, I’m so dumb! Sorry, I get really excited about weapons and I love to show mine off a bit and I forget not everyone’s weapon is as flashy as mine. Swords are still cool though! They’re classics, even if they don’t have mechashift functions.”

“It’s fine, Ruby. It was really my only option since most Huntsmen don’t use heavy artillery.”

Ruby looked bemused for a second, but it was brushed away with a smile. “Well, if you ever need any help with weapon repairs or upgrades, then let me know so I can hook you up.”

“You don’t have to- wait, repairs? Can you fix a broken sword?”

“I could do it blindfolded. Why?”

Jaune hesitated for a moment. He would need to choose his words carefully. “This sword isn’t my actual sword. My sword just happened to break right before I had to leave home so I’m borrowing this one from my family until I can get mine fixed. Can you help fix it?”

“Sure. I can take a look at it before dinner.”

Jaune smothered a sigh of relief. “Thanks. So glad I ran into you.”

Ruby smiled. “No problem! Could you help me with a problem right now?”

“Of course. Anything.”

“Are you sure the auditorium is this way?”

Jaune stopped walking and took in his surroundings for the first time. They had wandered around to some garden area with a pond nearby. Wherever they were, it was nowhere near their destination. “I don’t know. I was following you.”

“I was following you!”

*****

By some miracle, Jaune and Ruby had made it to the auditorium just as one of the teachers started talking. Ruby’s eyes had caught someone in the crowd and she slipped off with a quick promise to meet up again later. That suited Jaune just fine. He was more than happy to be in the back out of sight of the people that saw him throw up.

Yep. If he could just slide a bit backwards to the side of the door he could get a good view and- 

“Ah!”

“Oh! I’m sorry!”

Jaune whipped around with an apology already rolling off his tongue to the person he bumped into. A second apology was chambered in quickly after noticing her head was higher than he expected it to be. Experience and etiquette taught him that staring at a girl’s cleavage tended to result in pain. At least her red hair and green eyes were nice enough to focus on. 

“It’s fine, I should have watched where I was going,” Jaune said. “Just trying to find a place back here.”

“It’s alright. I can let you have this spot if you’d like,” the girl said politely.

“No, you were here first.” Jaune’s eyes quickly scanned the walls along the room, but there were no open spots nearby. “I don’t suppose there’s room for one more?”

The girl smiled and took a half step to the side. Jaune quickly thanked her and scooted in. Not a moment too soon as a man in a green suit walked on stage. He looked important. Was he in charge of the place? Jaune tried to recall the name. Ozzy? Ozbourne? Ozma? It started with ‘Oz’ he knew.

As the man began to speak, the girl beside him whispered, “I’m Pyrrha.”

Jaune spared a glance at her. “Name’s Jaune.”

“Nikos. Pyrrha Nikos.”

“Um, Arc? Jaune Arc.” Was she into Atlesian spy movies? Jaune noticed the bemused expression on her face. “What? Is there something on my face?”

“No. It’s just… not the reaction I usually get.”

“Really?” Jaune’s eyes scanned over her face, but he couldn’t remember ever seeing her before. “What, are you a famous actress or something?”

The corners of her lips quirked up. “No. Try again.”

“Painter?”

“Afraid not.”

“Writer?”

“Sorry.”

“Uhh…” Jaune’s eyes trailed over her armor. “Huntress Fashion Model?”

Pyrrha’s smirk had grown into a small, polite smile. “...Sure. I’ve done that.”

First aura, now minor celebrities, how many other things had Jaune missed out on? “Weird. Pretty sure I would have seen you in one of my sister’s magazines.” A look back at the stage and Jaune could see the man was still talking, but his eyes were looking his way. Crap, could he hear their whispering? Actually, he could see a few other people glaring at him as well so maybe he was a bit loud. He gestured as much to Pyrrha.

Thankfully the speech didn’t last much longer and after the blonde teacher gave them a brief schedule, they were dismissed out the side doors to lunch. However, the doors were on the other side of the room and the crowd was slowly filtering through.

“Guess there’s no sense in rushing in,” Jaune commented.

“I ate before arriving as well,” Pyrrha said.

“I had a pretty big breakfast so I can hold out.” A rumble bellowed out from Jaune’s stomach. Traitor. “Please ignore that.”

Pyrrha gave him a knowing look, but didn’t say anything. “Let’s find another way to the cafeteria.”

“Okay, but I kinda got lost getting here so I hope you know where we’re going.”

While everyone was focused on the side exit, the two of them backed out through the front. Between the two of them, they had figured to go around the building and find another entrance on the other side of the cafeteria. A solid plan, if they could find an unlocked door.

Jaune’s stomach grumbled even louder as they stared at the fourth locked door they found. “I don’t suppose you have one of those hairpins we can use to unlock the doors, do you?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s just a movie cliche.” Despite the repeated failures, Pyrrha still stuck with him. She seemed to be having fun, much to Jaune’s surprise.

“Tell that to my sisters.” Jaune’s stomach grumbled again and a desperate idea came to mind. Quickly looking around first, he drew his sword. 

“Jaune?”

“I didn’t want to do this, but my stomach beckons.” Jaune lined up the blade against the door jamb. “If I can get my sword in, I might be able to cut the bolt.”

“Or you could return to the main hall that’s now empty,” a new voice politely, but sternly, suggested.

The sword rattled against the door as Jaune spun around, choking back a yelp. It was the Oz guy from before, and he was staring at them with an amused smile before sipping from his mug. “Uhh… I can explain?”

“Usually when a boy and girl sneak off,” he said, slowly approaching, “I find them hiding in closets in more compromising positions, and certainly not happening this soon in the year.”

“W-we were just trying to get around the crowd, Mr. Ozpin,” Pyrrha said, her face flushed red.

“Yeah!” Jaune added, fighting his own blush. Pyrrha was certainly pretty, but come on, she was a supermodel! There’s no way Jaune would get that lucky.

“Then might I suggest waiting in line? It’d be a shame to add property damage to your record after you both worked so hard to get into Beacon.”

Jaune forced a grin. “Don’t worry. I didn’t cut the door.” He banged a fist against the door to prove his point, but the second bang found far less resistance. Jaune’s head turned to the tune of the door’s single squeaky hinge as he looked at the sliced deadbolt with horror. He turned back to see Ozpin’s impassive face. “Please don’t kick me out.”

“I’ll forgive it this once if you two immediately head for lunch using the  _ proper _ directions. I’ve been meaning to get these doors replaced.”

“Thank you very much!” Jaune belted out as he grabbed Pyrrha’s arm and led her away.

“Oh, and one more thing, Mr. Arc,” Ozpin called after him. 

“Yes, sir?”

“Keep in mind that tardiness is not a habit a huntsman should make. ” Ozpin gave a knowing, pointed look that sent chills down Jaune’s back.

Jaune couldn’t help but fret over what he meant over lunch.

*****

Yang couldn’t help but feel a little hypocritical as she followed Ruby. She’d left Ruby behind so that she could make her own friends, and Ruby did make one. It was a friend that got Ruby all excited to meet them again and Yang was happy for her, until Ruby mentioned it was a boy. 

Ruby had no interest in guys as far as Yang knew, but her eyes sparkled at the mention of him. At first, Yang figured he was going to show off his weapon to her, that would certainly catch Ruby’s eye. But a shadow of doubt wormed its way in. Yang might have taught her a lot about guys, but Ruby didn’t exactly have the street smarts or experience she did.

Being the responsible sibling sucked sometimes, but better her scare the guy off now than Dad finding out later.

Yang slipped into the locker room a bit after Ruby, taking care to shut the door slowly. She could hear Ruby’s voice a few rows over and made her way to one end, pressing herself against the locker.

“Can I see it?” Ruby asked.

“Sure,” the guy said, “Let me just whip it out.” A zipper unzipped, some cloth rustled, and Yang’s heart stopped for a second. There’s no way he was- Ruby was still fifteen!

“Whoa, it’s bigger than I expected.” Yang’s heart leapt into her throat now. 

“Really? I thought it was pretty average length.” It would be nothing in a few seconds.

“Can I touch it?” Yang’s patience snapped.

“Don’t you dare touch my sister, you creep!” Yang snarled as she jumped from her hiding place, semblance ablaze. There would be nothing left of the guy for letting Ruby touch his…. sword?

Now that she had a better look, the only thing unzipped was a duffle bag, and Ruby’s hand was stretched out towards the sword (or what was left of one) in the boy’s hands. Whoops.

“Yang!” Ruby cried, snapping Yang out of her confusion. “What are you doing?”

Yang smothered her semblance and plastered a grin on her face. “Hey Ruby, fancy running into you here.”

“Yaaaaang,” Ruby growled out, her expression about as amused as a pit bull. 

“What?” Yang tossed her hands up. “You said you were meeting a guy you just met. I was just looking out for you!”

“I’m fifteen, not five!”

“It’s alright, Ruby,” the guy said, now calmed down. “I don’t think I’d be okay if any of my sisters were alone with a guy I don’t know.” He put a hand out. “Jaune Arc.”

Alright, this guy had won some points in Yang’s book. “Yang Xiao-Long,” she said as she took his hand in a bone-crushing grip. Surprisingly, Jaune didn’t flinch at the pressure. Not only that, Yang noticed he had a strong grip as well. She added a few more points, but he could stand to look a bit less dorky though.

“Ruby was helping me fix my sword. Sorry about the confusion.”

Yang just shrugged. “No biggie. But shouldn’t you have gotten that done before coming here?”

“Last minute accident.” Jaune smiled in that ‘what can you do’ way. “I got a backup sword I’m borrowing.”

“Well you certainly found the right girl for the job.” Yang turned to her sister, who was inspecting the blade, and put on a mock serious face. “Give it to us straight, doctor. Will it ever be able to stab again?”

Instead of a retort, Ruby ignored Yang and scrunched her face further into confusion. She flipped the blade around, tapped it, and all sorts of things while muttering to herself. Ruby was in her element, and Yang knew it was hard to drag her out of it. After a few minutes of what seemed to be utter confusion for the little weapon nut, Ruby looked to Jaune with bewilderment.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but where did you get this piece of junk?”

“Nice bedside manner, Rubes,” Yang commented as she watched Jaune.

Jaune was gobsmacked by the blunt question. It took him a long moment to process a reply. “It was a family heirloom! My mom gave it to me. She said it had been through the Great War.”

Ruby winced with each word. “It’s not. This…  _ thing _ is nothing more than a piece of sharpened stock metal. It doesn’t look more than a decade old either.”

“What?” Jaune wheezed like he had been sucker punched in the gut.

“If anything, it’s pretty much just a sharpened training sword to prepare for an actual sword. The balance was way off, the thickness is too much, and don’t get me started on the forging! How did you not notice?”

“I… It was the only sword I ever used.” His knees started to wobble a bit from the shock. “I’ve been training with a fake?”

“There’s one more thing I noticed,” Ruby said, looking at the broken end, “and I’m not sure what to make of this. Jaune, how did you break this?”

“Would you believe me if I said I swung it really hard?” Jaune said with a wry grin.

“Oh I believe you, but these pieces tell me that was only part of what did it.”

Jaune’s expression turned into utter bafflement. “What?”

Ruby held out the blade and pointed at the base of it. “The tang near the crossguard was shaved away, enough that a good blow would break it off.”

“Wait,” Yang said, “So you’re saying not only was he working with a crap sword, but someone sabotaged it before he showed up? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Exactly!” Ruby exclaimed. “How could anyone live with themselves for such shoddy workmanship? If I ever find the person who made this, I’m going to give them a heck of a talking to!”

“Ruby, I don’t think that’s the problem here.” Yang tried not to roll her eyes. Really, her sister could get caught up in the smallest details of weapons.

“This is a crime against weaponkind!”

_ BANG! _

Ruby and Yang jumped at the sound and saw that it was Jaune, his armored glove pressed hard against the locker, his eyes downcast, and his chest heaving slow and steady breaths. When he spoke, his voice was a bit hoarse, but controlled, “I’m such an idiot.”

“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked.

“It’s just…” Jaune grimaced a bit before continuing. “My mom didn’t like the idea of me coming here. She was always a little overprotective of me, wanting me to stay home. Now I’m starting to see how far she was willing to go to stop me.”

Yang balked at that. Being a huntsman wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, if Uncle Qrow’s stories were anything to go by, and certainly far from safe out in the frontier. But wasn’t that his decision to make? Were there actually mothers like that? Yang wasn’t sure, as her own experience with moms was fleeting at best. But if Summer was still around, Yang was sure she’d be proud of them for becoming huntresses. Awesome kickass huntresses, that is.

“So what?” Yang spoke up, getting his attention. “You’re here and she isn’t. All you have to do is pass the initiation tomorrow and your mom can’t say a word about it.”

“Yeah,” Ruby chimed in. “And so what if you’re not using this junk?” She tossed the scrap metal over her shoulder. “You’ve got an even cooler sword that I know for a fact is well made! Even if it’s a bit different than your old training sword, and it’s not yours.” Her eyes lit up and she gasped. “Jaune! If you get in, I can help you make a new sword!”

Jaune blinked in surprise. “Really?”

“Yep!”

“Well, thanks, but I don’t have enough money to pay-”

“Nope! I’m doing it because I want to. Every Huntsman needs a weapon and I want to make sure you have the perfect one.”

“I.. don’t know what to say.” 

“Just say ‘thanks’ and be ready to have cookies on hand,” Yang said.

Jaune chuckled. “Okay, that much I can do. Thanks, Ruby.”

*****

Sheffield scanned the club room with thinly veiled disgust. The music (using the term very loosely) pounded against her ears with wild abandon, screeching and banging with electric vibrations. She could smell the alcohol and sweat, mixing like a horrid perfume, each scent vying for dominance. But perhaps the worst thing to assault her eyes was the dancing. So messy, so uncoordinated, and so crass. 

And here she thought Junior had some taste.

“This is where your contact is?” Newcastle asked. “I thought you said he had class?” She had insisted on coming along when they arrived in the seedier parts of Vale. Not that it wasn’t appreciated, but Sheffield was sure she could have handled it on her own. Better her than one of the others, at least.

“I thought so too. Perhaps when we’re done with this, I may return to give him some remedial lessons.” She could stand to blow off a bit of steam right now for all the trouble Jaune was putting her through, but a maid must have patience. 

Sheffield found her quarry sitting at the bar, talking to two young girls in red and white. Sheffield’s eyes narrowed at that. They had better not be what she thought they were or she would have more than words with Junior after their business was done.

She led Newcastle down the stairs and meandered around the club floor towards the bar. It was pitifully easy to approach undetected. Most of the club people were far too busy dancing or drinking to notice them, and the rental goons seemed more concerned about troublesome drunks than a maid passing by. By the time any of them paid her mind, she was already at Junior’s back. The two girls he was speaking to had left shortly before her final approach, so she and Newcastle took the unoccupied seats.

“Is this what amounts to a crime lord in Vale? I’m disappointed, Junior.”

Junior turned around with an angry retort on his lips and a drink in hand, but whatever he was about to say died when he laid his eyes on her. “S-Sheffield? What?”

Sheffield pressed her advance while he was still confused. “I believe you said you were going to become a classic crime lord, hosting drinking and gambling clubs like the ones in those spy movies.” She slightly raised an eyebrow. “You also said you owe me a few favors and a drink. I’ve come to collect on one of those favors. Perhaps a drink too if you have a decent selection.” 

It took Junior a moment to regain his composure, but he set aside the glass behind the counter and said, “Let’s talk in my office.”

He led the two of them out of the main room towards a side door. Before the door closed, Sheffield noticed that the red and white girls had followed them in as if they belonged there, and then closed the distance so that they were following behind them. Sheffield could see clearer now that the red and white girls were not ladies of the night like she had thought, but bodyguards by their weapons. Bouncers at worst. They eyed her up like she was doing to them, appraising for weapons and skill. But there was something about them that screamed of old familiarity despite having never met them before. Was it the white one’s boots? They weren’t unlike her own.

The office Junior led them into was modern, which was to say just a bit above spartan. There was a desk in the back, near a false window of Vale’s skyline (the building was not that high). There were a few file cabinets off to one corner, likely the legal work for the building, and a number of paintings lining the wall for decoration. The center of the room had a coffee table flanked by two black, leather couches on either side. Nearby was a minibar for entertaining guests. Unfortunately, none of the shelves Sheffield could see had a strong stout, nor a decent gin.

Junior gestured for the maids to take a seat as he went to pour some drinks. They did and the twins sat opposite them, eyeing the maids with guarded curiosity. Sheffield watched as he pulled out a fresh bottle of something and poured out into three cups, and then grabbed two sodas. 

Sheffield’s eye caught the label of the bottle. “I thought you were going to save that bottle?”

Junior shrugged. “Yeah, well, I can’t exactly fulfill that promise now so no sense in keeping it closed. Kept it in case you’d show up again to kick my ass for it.” He tossed the sodas to the girls, who caught and cracked them open, and then brought over the drinks, handing them to the maids before sitting opposite them between the twins.

“More’s the pity,” Sheffield said before taking a sip. The burning taste of berries felt warm in her core. “I’m afraid I have to ask first, but who are these two vixens you picked up?” She pointed at the twins.

“Vixens,” the red one purred. “Ooh, I like the sound of that.  _ Vixens. _ ” She rolled the word around her tongue like a piece of candy, exploring the flavor it held.

“I’m pretty sure that’s just a fancy word for skank, sis,” the white one said.

“Well then it fits you to a tee, doesn’t it?” The red one giggled as her sister smacked her leg.

Junior grimaced and then knocked back his drink. “These two brats are half the reason I haven’t made good on that promise. Sheffield, meet my daughters, Miltia and Melanie Malachite.”

Sheffield was glad she wasn’t drinking when he said that, but the same could not be said for Newcastle, who sputtered just as she took a sip. While Newcastle tried to clear her throat, Sheffield’s eyes went on the prowl. Ring finger. No wedding band. Not even a tan to hint one so no divorce either. They didn’t even carry his last name either. And knowing Junior...

“I believe I had made it clear that you shouldn’t mix business and pleasure too much,” Sheffield lectured. “Dare I ask how many other lessons you’ve forgotten?”

Junior winced. “I’d rather you not.”

Deep breaths. Really, this one was on her for not keeping in contact so often, but Carolina just had to keep going and have more kids with her husband, increasing Sheffield’s duties at home. Sheffield supposed the silver lining was that one of those kids at least got her out of the house to check up on her contact.

“Uh-oh, Dad’s in trouble~!” Miltia said teasingly, poking Junior in the side.

“Please, Mil,” Melanie said, “Dad’s already whipped. What more can some maid do? Wash his mouth with soap?”

“Can it, you two,” Junior said. “That ‘maid’ was once the vigilante of Vale known as the Cleaning Lady. Remember the stories I told you?”

The twins both looked at Sheffield and scrutinized her. 

“I thought she’d be taller,” Melanie said.

“I thought she’d be hotter,” Miltia said.

“I can see where Dad got my boot designs from.”

“I can see where Dad got his interest in frilly maid clothes from.”

Junior’s cheeks tinted a bit as he turned on Miltia. “I  _ will _ ground you, missy.”

“Now, now,” Newcastle said, “there’s no need for that. We’re just a few maids passing by and we pride ourselves in our elegance. But if it’s a lesson in etiquette they require, I’d be more than willing to teach them.” She smiled at the girls, her expression laced with flint.

“Sorry, but we’re not going to any hoity toity parties anytime soon,” Melanie said, unfazed and nonchalant.

“Not unless they had some cute, rich guys there,” Miltia added.

“On second thought, give my sister some lessons in not being a gold digger.”

“Far as I’m aware the both of you could use some manners, so shush or I may take up her offer,” Junior threatened, glaring at them both until they looked away, snickering. He then looked to Sheffield. “How about we get back to business? You said you wanted to cash in a favor. What do you need?”

“I’m looking for a foolish, troublesome boy,” Sheffield said. She ignored Miltia’s amused snort. “He’s part of the family I serve. He’s run from home and stolen from the family to fulfill a childish delusion of becoming a Huntsman despite lack of proper training and aura. Time is of the essence and I need your men and their discretion to search the city. Can you do that?”

“I can, but wouldn’t this be better to hand off to the police?”

Sheffield shook her head. “He’s important. Other parties may be looking for him as well. I need your discretion to ensure that.”

Junior nodded. “My boys know better than to blab. Can you give me a description?”

“Tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, looks like a fool, and he should be carrying an ornate longsword on him.” Sheffield’s eyes narrowed. “It’s critical that he brings that back, not that I believe him foolish enough to part with it.”

“Boy and fancy sword. Gotcha. What’s his name?”

“Jaune Arc.” A flinch so quick Sheffield wasn’t sure if she saw it happened just out of the corner of her eyes. Both of them. The twins? But when she glanced at them, they were disinterested (one examining her nails, the other her scroll), yet Sheffield could tell they were listening intently. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen him, have you?”

“Can’t say I have, but,” Junior frowned and looked at his girls, “didn’t you two run off with some kid like that the other day?” 

Now the girls were pointedly disinterested, looking anywhere but them. “Maybe?” Melanie said. “There’s a lot of blonde guys in vale. Can’t say I remember him.”

“Yeah, they tend to blur together by morning,” Miltia added rather quickly. 

Sheffield made to stand and teach these harlots a lesson, but Newcastle’s umbrella kept her seated. 

“There’s no need for lies, girls,” Newcastle said calmly, acting akin to the ‘good cop’. “Would you kindly tell us, did you or did you not meet Jaune?”

The twins looked at each other and had an unspoken conversation for a long moment. Melanie broke off first to answer. “Yeah, he showed up the other day. Came in asking for Junior’s help.”

Miltia shrugged. “He seemed cute and single so we thought we’d play with him for a bit before throwing him to Papa Bear.”

Newcastle turned back toward Sheffield. “Did he know about your contact?”

“Doubtful. Coincidence more likely.”

Junior frowned at his girls. “This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“You were still hungover,” Melanie said, “and we took care of him.”

Miltia giggled. “So easy to tease.”

“What did he come here for? Where did he go?” Sheffield’s tone was frigid and brooked no argument. The girl’s dancing around was beginning to remind her of another pair of irritating sisters. 

Case in point, Miltia smirked and shook her head. “Sorry. Can’t tell you that. Customer confidentiality.”

“Dad says it’s important to keep secrets, unless you pay the right price.” Melanie folded her arms with a cocky grin.

Junior facepalmed.

“And what price is that?” Newcastle asked, playing along.

Another twin staring conversation occurred, this one taking longer than before.

“A trade of information,” Melanie offered. “Twenty questions from us for your two. We ask first.”

“I want to know ten things about Jaune,” Miltia said. “Something to tease him with if he comes back.”

“I want to know ten things about you two,” Melanie said. “If Dad says you’re the real deal, I want to pick up a few tricks, like how you walked through the club without any notice.”

“Oh dear, what a troublesome pair of fox sisters,” Newcastle said. “Wouldn’t you agree, Sheffield?”

“Aye.” So that’s who they reminded her of. Resemblances aside, it was a simple deal, almost dirt cheap on the surface, but that depended on what questions asked. Knowledge was a valuable thing. Sheffield had instilled that concept into Junior a long time ago. But then again, if they were to be embarrassing questions about Jaune, Sheffield supposed she could indulge them for the trouble he was putting her through. The other was, admittedly, of lesser consequence. A maid had many tricks to their trade and it wouldn’t hurt to pass on the common ones. They could stand to learn some etiquette.

“Funny you mention that,” Melanie said. “Jaune said the same thing.”

Miltia nodded. “Mmhmm, but I think I like the sound of ‘vixens’ better.”

Lots and lots of etiquette.

“Very well.” Sheffield finished her glass and poured another. “What would you like to know?”

“Does Jaune have any embarrassing outfits?” Miltia asked.

***

Jaune stared at Ruby.

Ruby stared back.

“It’s comfortable,” Jaune stated firmly.

Ruby tried to hold back a grin. “It sure looks comfy.”

“It was a gift.”

“Sure.” Ruby choked back a chuckle. “I believe you.”

Jaune sighed. “Just… get it out of your system.”

Ruby broke down into a fit of laughter on her sleeping bag. “It’s a cute bunny rabbit!”

Jaune slumped over onto his bedroll. It was just some animal pajamas he got from Bataan after his old onesie went missing a few years ago. But where Bataan’s were cat-themed, his had bunny ears on the hood. Rabbits were the running joke of the family.

Why did his mom have to be so obsessed with bunny suits?

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We can all agree that the canon onesie he wore was atrocious. Sheffield burned that thing the first moment she could. Like disposing a body.
> 
> I could see Sheffield getting into spy movies, especially British ones. I'm sure Sheffield would never admit it, but she probably would crush a bit on James Bond.  
> (RIP Sean Connery, this one is for you)  
> Also, a friend told me one of the officers on the HMS Sheffield would sing Monty Python songs. I think those movies are a guilty pleasure of hers.


	4. Aura for Dummies

There she was. Pyrrha Nikos. The Invincible Girl. A true prodigy of combat. A perfect partner for anyone lucky enough at Beacon. And by ‘anyone’, Weiss obviously meant herself. She would have no less, as befitting a Schnee.

Of course, Pyrrha was probably thinking similar thoughts. After all, why else would she transfer to Beacon, the best school on Remnant, but to have a partner capable of keeping up with her? While Weiss was still learning a few things in combat, her intelligence would make up for it in the academic classes. Perhaps Pyrrha might even teach her a thing or two about fighting. Yes, together, they would be indomitable. They would be brains, brawn, and beauty.

It was a shame about all the rubes running around, especially a certain ruby-colored one. They certainly didn’t have a chance to match up with Pyrrha as well as Weiss could. But that was no reason to slack off, it was up to Weiss to offer herself as an optimal candidate first to get ahead of the competition.

“So, have you given thought to who your partner will be?” Weiss asked after introducing herself. “Or team? I’m sure anyone here would love to have you on theirs.”

Pyrrha, as polite as she was on camera, simply said, “I don’t know. I was thinking of just letting the chips fall where they may.”

Perfect. “In that case, might I suggest that I join your team?” Team. Not partner. No need to be so presumptuous so soon.

“That sounds grand, Weiss.” Pyrrha smiled.

Excellent. Nothing would stand between her and total victory over Beacon.

“Pyrrha!” A blonde, scraggly boy skidded to a stop next to the champion. “Are you single?”

Pyrrha’s eyes bugged out and her face began turning as red as her hair. “W-What?”

“Everyone’s talking about teams and the two other people I met are teaming up.” He jerked a thumb back the way he came. “I know we only met yesterday but I kinda don’t know anybody else here, so mind teaming up with me?”

“O-Oh.” Her blush drained away. “No, I don’t mind at all.”

Weiss heard her little world shatter, much like a window that she wanted to propel this boy through with her glyphs in the next five seconds.

“Excuse me,” Weiss said, tugging the boy away, “but who do you think you are? Do you even know who you’re talking to?”

“What? Yeah. Course I do.” Good. “She’s Pyrrha Nikos. Fashion model and small time celebrity.”

Weiss choked on air. Meanwhile Pyrrha, bless her soul, was too polite to correct him.

“I’m Jaune Arc, by the way.” He held a hand out.

Arc. The name rang a bell, a small one, but that wasn’t important right now. “She’s not a fashion model, you dunce! She was the top student at Sanctum Academy.”

The blonde boy just stared dumbly at her. “Okay, so she’s really smart?”

“She’s the four time in-a-row champion of the Mistral Region Tournaments!” 

“Ohhh, cool.” The non-chalantness in his voice still irked Weiss, but at least now he realized he was standing in front of his betters. Jaune turned to Pyrrha and said, “Guess that explains why I didn’t hear of you. My family doesn’t really watch wrestling shows.” 

Weiss began to wonder if she could find a reasonable excuse to tell the teachers for throwing him into a wall.

While Weiss silently fumed, Pyrrha took the moment to speak up. Unfortunately, not to correct the blonde fool. “I don’t think you should worry too much about teams, Jaune. I think they’re made up of four people, not two. And from what it sounds like, you know more people here than me. If anything, I should be worried about not finding the other teammates.”

That was a lie, Weiss knew. Pyrrha could pick anyone she wanted. She could probably ask the headmaster for the cream of the crop, which would include Weiss of course. She was just too polite to turn the boy down.

“You’re right. We need to find other people to join our team,” he said.

“And what makes you think Pyrrha is going to be a part of your team?” Weiss asked. Such arrogance to assume these things.

Jaune gave her a bemused look, which looked awfully condescending with their height difference. “Because I asked her if she wanted to, and she said she didn’t mind?”

Weiss bit back her biting retort. She couldn’t refute that, but a Schnee doesn’t give up. “Well we still don’t know for sure how they are going to arrange the teams, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.” Of course, that applied to her as well, but she would make do.

“What are they gonna do? Throw us into a forest and make us pick our own teams?” he joked.

  
  


*****

“What kind of teacher throws kids off a cliff to make them form their own teams by eye contact?” Jaune grumbled and he slowly pulled himself towards the end of the spear that pinned his hood. “Landing strategies, my ass. What kinds of places are we being sent to that can’t be reached by landing safely? Would it have killed them to hand out parachutes?”

Jaune now knew what Roman meant by needing aura to survive Beacon. He probably would have splattered on the ground if it wasn’t for the spear pinning him to the tree. He was lucky that he wasn’t impaled. Now if only he wasn’t pinned in such an awkward angle, or twenty feet off the ground. He looked like a damsel in distress.

“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” Pyrrha called up to him.

“I told you, I got this,” he replied. Thankfully, this was where all that physical training came in handy. Just a little bit more… there! His hood was free, but it was going to need a serious patch job later. “See? I did it. Now I just have to get down… with your weapon. Oh boy.”

“Jaune, I can-”

“Hold on, I can get it. Just need to wiggle it a bit.” Still hanging onto the end, Jaune repeatedly did pull ups, but after several of them, he still felt no budge. He looked down at Pyrrha. “You’ve got a crazy throwing arm, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Let me try one more-  _ Whoa! _ ” Jaune yelped as the spear suddenly gave way and he plummeted to the ground like a quadriplegic cat. He managed something resembling a tumble before the end, but he still ended up eating dirt. “Got it,” he said, raising the spear above him.

“I’m sorry!” Pyrrha said as she knelt beside him. She gasped when he sat up. “Jaune, your nose is bleeding!”

That explained the wetness he felt. At least it wasn’t another broken nose. “It’s okay. I’ve had worse falls in training.”

“But what about your aura? Why didn’t you use it? Are you low on it?” Her questions were rapid fired with concern. Any other time, Jaune would have been delighted to have a pretty girl like her care about his injuries, but all he could think about was how to explain his lack of aura.

_ ‘Can I say I ran out of aura? Wait, how do you run out of aura? Does it work like a battery? Forget it, we got up a few hours ago. If I had aura, it probably would have been filled. A tumble like that wouldn’t have drained it.’ _ A poke on his cheek pushed his train of thought to a screeching halt.

“Are you okay, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked. “Do I need to take you back to the cliff?”

“What? No, I’m fine!” Jaune quickly stood up and wiped the blood from his nose. “See? No need to go back.” A thought occurred to him. It was a bit of a long shot in many ways, but he wouldn’t have considered it had Ruby not been so nice about his sword. Like mom said, friends are strangers you haven’t met yet. “Unrelated note, how strong is your aura?”

If Pyrrha was surprised by the question, she didn’t show it. “Fairly strong. I wouldn’t last long in ‘wrestling’ if it wasn’t,” she said as she stood up. 

Little bit of confidence. Here goes nothing. “Then could you help me unlock my aura?”

Pyrrha blinked in surprise.

_ ‘This was a terrible idea. I’m going to get kicked out. Abort! Abort!’ _

“Of course,” she said happily.

Jaune let out the breath he was holding. “Thank you so much. I tried to get it unlocked before coming here, but it didn’t work out.” Technically true, but no need to incriminate himself even further.

“Let me try.” Pyrrha placed her hand upon his chest. “For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee.” Her hand glowed red and it pushed out onto his chest, sinking in like a sponge. Jaune could have sworn he tasted maple syrup this time, and a feeling of being twisted around. 

Seconds passed. The corners of Pyrrha’s mouth turned down. Jaune thought he felt something lurch and scrape, but that couldn’t be right. After nearly a minute, she let go, slightly panting. “I can see why you haven’t gotten it unlocked. I’ve never felt an aura like yours before.”

Jaune smiled wryly. “That’s what I’ve been told. I was kinda hoping it would work this time.”

Pyrrha rubbed her chin in thought, then said, “Perhaps if we get another student we might be able to unlock it?”

_ ‘Except that didn’t work last time,’ _ Jaune thought. But then again, two huntresses had to be better than two club bouncers. “Sure, why not? I think I saw Ruby being dragged away by that girl in white.”

“Weiss Schnee?”

“Yeah, her.” Jaune paused. “Wait, you mean the singer? That Weiss Schnee?”

Pyrrha’s mouth twitched upwards. “Yes. That one.”

Huh. Well that made Jaune feel a bit better. If a singer could be a huntress, why couldn’t he be a huntsman? And yet, it begged the question of why there were so many celebrities here? He really should start paying attention to the news more often.

“Do you think I can get an autograph for my sisters?”

*****

“Ruby!”

“Jaune?” Ruby turned to see Jaune pop out of some bushes. He jogged up to them but focused on Ruby.

“How’d you find us?” she asked, watching as Pyrrha Nikos followed not far behind.

“My cousin Minnie is an expert animal hunter. I picked up a few things about tracking on family camping trips.” Jaune held up a small, crumbly object. “I just followed the cookie trail you left.”

Ruby’s eyes widened and her hands went to her cookie stash pack. Sure enough, there was a small tear at the bottom and bits of now-crushed cookies she had taken from the cafeteria were falling out. From the size of the tear it had to have been from one of the Beowolf claws she dodged.

Initiation could wait. All the Grimm here needed to die. She voiced her thoughts, fists clenched, her eyes burning with fury.

“This is my partner for the next four years,” Weiss muttered, facepalming. “Unbelievable.”

But before Ruby could run off and unleash her cookie vengeance, a pair of strong hands gripped her arms. “Hold it! I need your help again. Something you can actually fix instead of a dud sword.”

Fix something that wasn’t a sword? What could she do if it wasn’t weapon related? She wanted to decline, but Jaune was a nice guy and he was asking for help. Least she could do was listen. “Sure, what do you need?”

“Well.. um..”

Ruby could see the awkward hesitation bloom across on his face, as if he suddenly felt self conscious about his request at the last second. It was a feeling Ruby could relate to. Were it anyone else, she probably wouldn’t be able to pull it out. “Come on, no dumb questions with me, remember?”

He did, and that gave him enough confidence to ask, “Can you help me unlock my aura?”

“You don’t have your aura?!”

Ruby jumped, thinking that had leapt from her mouth and was ready to apologize, but she realized soon enough it had erupted from Mt Bossy Britches, also known as her partner, Weiss.

“How do you get into Beacon without aura?” Weiss continued. “Are the standards here dropping so much that anyone can get in?”

“Why are you complaining? They let you in, didn’t they?” Jaune said casually. Had Ruby not been looking at his face, she would have thought it an insult, but there were no signs of malice in his face or voice. Still, phrasing!

“Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?” Weiss stomped towards Jaune, her weapon arm shaking with restrained fury. Despite the height difference, she made Jaune back up a few feet. “I’ll have you know that I was trained by some of the best tutors in Atlas. I excelled on all my exams for the academies. Atlas Academy was begging for me to stay there! Are you implying I’m not good enough to be here?”

“What? No! I was just saying that-“

“I look weak? Fragile? Is that it?” Weiss jabbed a finger at his chest. “I am not some glass figurine to be put upon a shelf. I can handle myself, thank you very much.”

Ruby wanted to step in and calm things down, but it was clear a few sensitive nerves had been pressed. Ruby was going to have to walk on eggshells for the next four years, wasn’t she? Great. Where was Yang when she needed her? She was always better at this stuff.

But the next best solution came in the form of Pyrrha, cutting between Jaune and Weiss. “He didn’t mean it like that, Weiss. He was just surprised that a renowned singer like you is attending a huntsman school.” Ruby noticed her smile was oddly serene as she said that.

The words deflated Weiss’ anger like a leftover helium balloon. She stared at Pyrrha, and then glared past her at Jaune. “Is that true?”

Jaune gave a wry grin. “Would it be a bad time to ask for an autograph for my sisters? They’re big fans.”

Weiss simply pursed her lips together in a deep frown and stalked away, muttering about idiotic boys. Jaune’s shoulders sagged a bit and Pyrrha gave him a consoling pat.

“So…” Ruby spoke up, bringing their attention to her, “what’s this about your aura?”

Jaune quickly explained the situation, with Pyrrha backing up his words. Needless to say, Ruby never heard of something like this before, and she wasn’t exactly an expert on aura. If Pyrrha freaking Nikos couldn’t jump start his aura, Ruby wasn’t sure how she could contribute much more.

“We’re trying for quantity over quality,” Jaune said after she voiced her concern. “I don’t know if this’ll work either, but I’m running out of options here. Can you please help? I’ll buy you a box of cookies after this.”

Ruby had to hand it to him, Jaune knew how to drive a bargain. “Alright, let’s get your aura pumping!” She grabbed one shoulder while Pyrrha held the other and began the chant.

Ruby poured part of her soul into him and immediately understood what they meant. Jaune’s aura was huge! And it tasted like metal and saltwater. For a brief moment, Ruby saw a blue crystalline cube, but the moment her aura touched it, Ruby found herself in a new place. It felt like the garage when her sister would work on her bike, but this was on a much bigger scale. In fact, Jaune’s aura looked like a ship of some kind, like an actual sea ship, not an airship.

Her flowery aura raced across and around his, examining it for buttons, levers, anything to pull at, but it was sealed tight. Still, that didn’t deter Ruby in the slightest. She poked and prodded around, looking for something familiar to latch onto. While searching the ‘top’ of his aura, Ruby felt her soul resonate with several points of contact. They were big and felt like firearms of a kind, except they were heavy, unwieldy, and unmoving. Her aura tried tugging and pulling but there was almost no budging, even with the slight shaking sensation she felt from Pyrrha’s efforts. 

After a few more tries, Ruby broke out with a gasp. Across from her, Pyrrha took some deep breaths of her own.

“You guys weren’t kidding,” Ruby said. “I don’t think my sister’s aura is this big or heavy. What are you eating to get so much?” Ruby looked Jaune up and down. “And so tall?”

“I don’t think it works quite like that,” Pyrrha said.

“It doesn’t.”

The group turned to see Weiss standing off to the side, arms crossed, foot tapping, and expression sour. “Aura is a manifestation of the soul, not the stomach. If he has large reserves, it’s likely because his family line has large auras. Furthermore, the idea of using quantity is ridiculous, but if I hadn’t seen it, I would have had a difficult time believing Pyrrha couldn’t do it by herself.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate it,” Jaune said, “but why are you helping?”

Weiss sniffed. “We don’t have all day to do this, you know. If you’re all so insistent on doing this, then the faster this is done, the faster we can finish this test.” Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t get any wrong ideas. I simply will not have my standing be dragged down on the first day.”

That was… the nicest thing Ruby heard from Weiss all day. Maybe Weiss wasn’t a lost cause yet.

“What are you grinning about, dolt?”

“Nothing.” Ruby skipped over to her partner. “So, partner, how do we unlock his aura?”

Weiss stood straighter. “It’s not an exact science but there are a few visualization methods that might help. First, we need an idea of what Jaune’s soul is like. What did you see?”

“It felt stuck, like it was caught on something,” Pyrrha said. “It was heavy and metallic, but hollow, like it was meant to float.”

“It felt like I was at the beach at first,” Ruby said, “but then I saw some kinda garage with a giant ship in it. My soul pointed out something that felt like guns. Heavy guns.”

“Sounds kinda like a dry dock.” Jaune blinked. “Which kinda makes sense now that I think about it.”

“Why’s that?” Ruby asked.

“My family owns a lot of old warships for our company. Dad called it a ship escort business, but Mom didn’t like that term for some reason.”

“Ship escort?” Weiss’ befuddled face turned to realization and then to shock. “Wait.  _ Your family _ owns the Azur Lane Shipping Company?”

“Yes?”

Now Ruby was surprised as well, but for slightly different reasons. The company was known for working to protect coastal cities and shipping lanes from the Grimm, especially in places where Atlas military couldn’t reach. Thanks to them, a lot of remote places were protected by routine patrols. But what shocked Ruby was how this contradicted the lengths Jaune’s mom went to to stop him from attending Beacon. Shouldn’t she want him to be able to fight Grimm as well? 

Weiss’ eye twitched. “That’s even less excuse to not know who I am!” She took a deep breath to calm down, but she gripped her rapier a little tighter. “Focus. If Jaune’s aura presents itself as a docked battleship, then perhaps to unlock it we need to get it back into the water, so to speak.”

“If it’s in a dry dock, there should be a way to flood the place to get it floating,” Jaune added. “Maybe? I’ve never really seen my soul before.”

“I don’t recall seeing such things, but that does give me an idea,” Pyrrha said, rubbing her chin in thought. “I’m willing to try again now.”

They tried it again. Pyrrha’s aura wrapped the bottom of the ship while Ruby’s ran along the sides. From what Ruby could tell, Pyrrha was doing the heavy lifting (quite literally), and while it was impressive to see, it wasn’t enough. There had to be something else.

Ruby checked for the floodgates. She found something resembling it, but there were no levers or controls she could find. Frustrated, she floated around the chains for-

Wait, chains?

Her aura poked and examined again. They were chains, taut and strong, leading from the dock up to the ship itself. Running her petals up the chain and onto the ship, she could find where they hooked into his aura, keeping it still. This had to be the key to unlocking his aura!

Ruby’s aura gripped the chain and pulled with all her aura’s strength. At first, it would not budge, but then thanks to Pyrrha’s efforts, it gradually moved until it popped off the handle. Success! There were more chains left, but it could be done.

Relaying her discovery to Pyrrha, they worked in tandem to release all the other chains, each one getting easier with the more slack they got. It wasn’t long before they popped off the last one and Ruby watched as the aura would activate.

…

Any second now.

…

“Oh come on!” Ruby exclaimed aloud, startling Jaune. “What are we possibly missing?”

“This is unusual,” Weiss said, now more than a little curious at their efforts. “Perhaps it needs to be jump started with your auras now?”

“Maybe you could help and add your aura, see if that does anything,” Ruby said, frustration filling her voice.

Weiss sighed. “Very well, but I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so’ afterwards.” Weiss approached, her hand glowing with a snowy blue aura. A blue that looked like-

Whatever Ruby was about to think was cut off as several sudden things happened in a moment. Flood waters rushed in, the ship rumbled with new power, Ruby’s aura was kicked out, and then Ruby herself was knocked back on her butt.

When she regained her senses, she said one thing, “What the heck was that?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's your initiation arc. I'll try not to make it boring/cliche.
> 
> Please leave a comment!


	5. Hunters and Huntresses

If Jaune had to describe the sensation of aura, it was like he had gotten a full night’s sleep but upon waking he slammed a liter of pure espresso and was now ready to fight the moon before it invaded Remnant. He could feel his skin thrumming with power, hear his heart pump as loud as a battleship’s cannons, and, for a moment, he thought he could hear radio static.

Was this what being high felt like?

In the midst of this newfound euphoria, Jaune realized he was laying on the ground. Had he fainted? He hoped not. That would look so uncool in front of his partner. He slowly sat up, still feeling a little dizzy and noticed he wasn’t the only one knocked down.

“Ugh, what hit me?” Weiss groaned out as she got up, clutching her head with one hand.

“What the heck was that?” Ruby cried out.

“That,” Pyrrha said, standing up from the kneeling position she was in, “was Jaune’s aura activating. I must say, I was hardly expecting a backlash like that.” She smiled at Jaune. “You should be proud of having such deep aura reserves.”

Jaune stared at his hand, the glow around it slowly fading. “Yeah, sure. Is it normal to feel this… awesome? I feel like I could punch a Goliath to dust.”

“Ah.” Pyrrha winced. “You’re experiencing an aura high. Everyone gets them, but those with stronger auras feel it worse.” She walked over and pulled him up off the ground. “Just take it easy and try not to over-exert yourself. It’ll wear off eventually.”

He hoped so. He could already hear a weird buzzing noise.

“Okay, but what exactly happened in there?” Ruby, now back on her feet, asked once more. “We were having so much trouble but then Weiss came in and we all exploded.” She turned to Weiss, who was standing on a shaky leg. “What did you do?”

The disconcerted expression on Weiss’ face was odd to see, in Jaune’s opinion. It looked out of place on the haughty girl. But, not that’d he’d say it aloud, it was a little cute to see her flounder a bit. “I’m… I’m not sure. I just copied my sister’s technique when she unlocked my aura.”

“Then why didn’t we start with that in the first place?” Ruby asked exasperatedly.

Weiss’ stern lecturer face reappeared. It reminded Jaune of a certain teenage tutor, except Nimi only did it when he fell asleep during class. “Because, you dolt, it’s a semblance technique that works best on my family’s aura. I didn’t think it’d work in the first place. The fact that it did so well is troubling in and of itself, but that is a mystery to be solved another day. We’ve already wasted enough time here and we still need to find the temple. I will not stand for any more interruptions!“

The moment she finished, a low droning sound echoed over the forest. The four of them, startled by the sudden noise cast their gazes skyward.

“What’s that sound?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s not a Grimm I’ve heard.”

“It sounds like a Hellcat,” Jaune said. It was hard to forget such a familiar sound, especially when Bataan was always working on one. He still remembered the time she tried to take him on a joyride, and that was when they discovered his affinity for airsickness. Mom made him scrub out the cockpit for that.

What was her plane doing out-

Oh.

_ Oh _ .

Aura highs suck.

Jaune swore a curse that his mom would keelhaul a certain cousin for teaching him, and ran for the closest bush big enough to hide him. Once inside, he began to conceal himself as best he could, like a Vietnamese, as Minnie would say.

He only got halfway through when he felt a dense weight crash on top of him, and then another smaller one into his side. His mind panicked for a split second until he saw it was Pyrrha who jumped on him and then Ruby joined in. Just beyond them, up in a nearby tree was Weiss, stepping off of a glyph platform onto the branch.

“What are you doing?” he hissed at them. 

Ruby gave him an incredulous look. “What are we doing? You’re the one that freaked out about the Hellcat Grimm. What are  _ you _ doing?”

Jaune shook his head. “It’s not a Grimm. It’s- shhh!” Jaune curled up under the bush as the droning got louder and louder. Soon enough, the silhouette floated through the gaps in the leaves and then passed directly overhead, before disappearing once more.

With the danger passed, Jaune let out the breath he had been holding, but the high he was still riding set his mind into overdrive. He shakily pushed his way up and out of the bush, leaning against a nearby tree for support. 

“Oh shit, I’ve really done it now, haven’t I?” he groaned, his hand brushing through his hair. 

“Done what?” Ruby and Pyrrha asked, popping out of the bush.

Weiss elegantly dropped out from the trees above with a few glyphs. “Would someone explain why we panicked over something that was certainly  _ not _ a Grimm?”

Jaune winces. “Sorry. It was my cousin’s plane, an old Hellcat. I’m pretty sure she’s looking for me.”

“Why?” Ruby asked.

“Remember when I said my mom wasn’t keen on me being a Huntsman?” Jaune grimaced. “I have really underestimated lately how much she stood by that.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“Yep.”

“Why not?” Pyrrha asked, curiosity laced with concern in her voice.

“Because she’s my mom. Because she’s an overprotective worrywart. But mostly because she wants me to stay at home and take over the family business where I’ll be safe.” Jaune gave a long-frustrated growl at the past part. “Desk jobs don’t slay Grimm.”

“Do you have any siblings to take the role?” Weiss asked, an odd calculating look on her face.

“Seven sisters. Two older ones.” Jaune was a little too frustrated to be amused by the girl’s reactions to that fact, but they did make him feel a bit better. “And no, my mom didn’t even  _ consider _ any of them able to take the job for some weird reason.”

“I see.” Weiss’ expression shifted into something unreadable.

“What are you going to do?” Ruby asks innocently.

A part of Jaune said to go home and face the music, but it was a small part that was reacted to as if it was a roach by the rest of him. No, the first chance to give up was back at home, facing that vampire in the basement. In retrospect, knocking her out was crazy, but deep down, Jaune knew it was when he fully committed himself to this crazy scheme. Roman’s price gouging didn’t stop him, lack of aura didn’t stop him, and finding out the truth of his old sword only made his commitment stronger. He’ll still have to face his mother’s wrath, but it can wait until after graduation.

“For starters,” Jaune said, speaking with conviction now, “finish this initiation.”

“What about the Hellcat?” Pyrrha asked. Her question was framed logically, instead of with concern.

“The forest is pretty big and as long as I stick to cover, I should be fine. One Hellcat is easy to hide from.”

As if the universe was listening, two more droning sounds made themselves clear. Both sounding like they were moving around the forest.

Jaune cursed under his breath. “If we move carefully, we can get past them, but it may take too long. I don’t know how much farther the temple is.”

“What if the planes were distracted?” Ruby asked.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. “They’re hundreds of feet in the air. How are you going to distract them?”

“Don’t worry, I think I have an idea!”

“Why does that not fill me with confidence?” Weiss muttered.

*****

Yang covered her eyes from the sun as she peered up at the planes circling the forest like vultures. 

“What do you think they’re looking for?” she asked her quiet partner.

“I don’t know. They look like Great War planes. Maybe they’re on patrol? Nevermores are common in Vale.”

“Maybe they just want a bird’s eye view?” Yang smirked at her partner.

Blake gave her a deadpan look. “If we’re going to be partners for the next four years, I’m going to insist you work on your jokes.”

“Darn, and here I thought we were really taking off but I guess my puns don’t fly with you.” Yang rested an arm on Blake’s shoulder.

Blake rolled her eyes. “I think I just heard the sound of every Grimm nearby dying from that terrible pun. You should reconsider your fighting style to add comedy.” A ghost of a smile flitted across her face. “It’d pack more of a punch.”

Yang blinked. She then wagged a finger at her. “Oh you’re good.” Then she grinned. “Guess you’re not as much a stick in the mud as I thought. No offense.”

“Some taken.”

“Brevity is the soul of wit,” a new voice said.

“What the-?!” Yang whipped around, surprised by the newcomer, and once she got a good look at them, she was surprised again. “A maid?” she blurted out. Yang glanced at her partner to see she was even more startled and on edge, gripping her weapon. Yang filed that away for future pranks, and then focused on the maid. 

“Can we help you?” Yang wondered what kind of maid would be this far out in the forest.

The maid picked up her dress and curtsied. “Greetings, I am Sheffield. Pardon me for the startle, but have either of you seen a reckless, blonde idiot recently?”

Blake raised her free hand and looked at Yang.

“Wha- Hey! I’m not an idiot.”

Blake raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t deny that you’re reckless.”

“I prefer the term ‘free spirited’.”

Blake looked back at Sheffield and let go of her gun. “I’m guessing Yang isn’t who you’re looking for. Can you elaborate?”

“Certainly. The rubbish- pardon me,  _ boy _ I’m looking for is Jaune Arc. He’s tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, and looks overall plain and foolish. He should be carrying an ornate sword with a sheath that extends into a shield.”

Yang paused. This maid was looking for Jaune? The way she spoke was weird too. Was she upset at a mess he left behind? The guy was a dork, sure, but he didn’t seem the messy type. Yang asked the maid as much.

“There are a number of messes he’s caused as of late,” Sheffield said coolly. “I am simply in the process of cleaning it up before he causes any more trouble.” 

Yang wasn’t sure what to make of this maid. Maids were supposed to be all cute and smiles, not ominous and vaguely threatening. She reminded Yang of the stories about that cold blooded maid vigilante of Vale some decades ago.

Yang kept a dazzling smile on her face and, in her usual joking fashion, asked, “So you’re here to ‘take out the trash’?” She pointed finger guns at the maid.

Sheffield’s face didn’t change, or rather, it only turned icier. “Something like that, yes.”

The frost in her voice froze the smile on Yang’s face, turning it brittle with shock. Her eyes widened, frantic at the maid’s possible meanings.  _ ‘Oh fuck! Am I talking to a hitman? Hitwoman?’  _

Thankfully, Blake took up the slack in the conversation.

“You’re not from Beacon.” Not a question, but a statement. “Who are you really?”

“I am Sheffield, simply a maid passing by. No one of concern to you.” She spoke crisply and cleanly, like it was a packaged response.

“Okay,” Blake said, her tone slightly unconvinced, “then what’s so important about this guy that you need to use old military planes to find him?”

“That is also none of your concern.”

“Y’know, the more you say that,” Yang said, drawing herself up into a fighting stance, “the more it kinda makes me concerned.” Yang wouldn’t say she’s the smartest person around, but even she could see all the pieces falling into place now. It turned into a picture she certainly didn’t like. 

Sheffield raised a brow at her. “And why would you be so concerned about him? You’ve hardly known him for more than a day.”

“I’ve known him long enough to see that his mom is the kind of bitch to sabotage her own kid’s sword.” Yang noticed a crack in the maid’s icy mask at the mention of the sword.

Now the maid narrowed her eyes. “And what are you going to do about it?”

“Well, I’ve never fought a maid before.”

“The Belladonna is right, you are a reckless idiot.”

Blake flinched. “How did-?”

But the question was lost to Yang as she blasted herself forward with a yell. Sheffield did nothing but stand there in response, making her an easy target. Yang punched forward towards the maid’s head, careful not to shoot, but the maid wasn’t there anymore. 

No, she had simply moved a few inches to the outside of her arm. Undeterred, Yang pressed her attack, punch after punch after punch with a kick or two thrown into the mix.

“Stay still, damn it!” Yang yelled.

“You fight like a desperate suitor trying to win a fair maiden’s heart with your constant messages of intent.”

“What?” Yang was blindsided by the response, enough that her last punch went wide. This time, Sheffield stepped inside Yang’s space before gripping Yang’s wrist and elbow and simply twisting. Yang wasn’t sure how, but next thing she knew, the air was knocked out of her lungs as she hit the ground.

“Eventually, the maiden will have no choice but to shut you down.”

“Yang!”

Blake’s pistol flew just past Sheffield’s face and hooked into a nearby tree. Sheffield’s head turned just in time to see Blake’s ribbon-propelled flying kick, but not fast enough to dodge it. The maid was knocked away, but she recovered expertly, sliding to a halt, eyes now focused on the new threat.

Blake pulled her pistol back to her hand and held her cleaver-sheath pointed at the maid as Yang stumbled back to her feet. “Yang, we can’t fight her.”

“The hell we can’t!” Yang’s eyes turned red as she glared at the maid. “I’m not going to fall for her tricks again.”

“It wouldn’t take much to trick you,” Sheffield said coolly.

“Shut up!”

“Yang!” Blake put a hand on Yang’s shoulder. “I don’t think you’ll be able to win this fight. She’s too experienced. Don’t forget we still have an initiation to finish and we can’t do that if we lose our aura fighting here.”

Yang growled. She was still sure she could take the smug maid on, but Blake was right about the initiation part. “How much farther is the temple?”

“Not much, why?”

“I say we grab our relics and then beat some answers out of this maid.” And, not that she’d say it aloud, if this maid was occupied fighting them, then it was one less person searching for Jaune. He’d still have to go to the temple, but Yang was confident she could hold the maid off long enough. “Hey, short, dark, and frilly! How about we take this over to the temple so I can finish my job and then beat the stuffing out of you?”

Sheffield hummed for a long moment and said, “Very well then. You’ll be the third trollop I’ve put in their place today.”

Oh, Yang was going to  _ enjoy _ making her eat dirt.

As they trekked through the woods, Yang shot off a quick text to her sister, telling her to warn Jaune about a maid and planes looking for him.

*****

Ruby stared at the message from her sister. “Wish you had mentioned that ten minutes ago.” She typed back a response explaining the recent events and that Jaune and Pyrrha had broken off to hide easier. 

“Something wrong?” Weiss asked.

“Maybe? My sister just told me now there’s a weird maid looking for Jaune too.”

Weiss pauses. “A maid. In a Grimm-infested forest.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “What kind of family hires  _ maids _ to do this kind of work?”

Ruby pursed her lips in a frown and then asked a question that had been bugging her since they parted ways with Jaune. She just couldn’t figure out how to bring it up without sounding weird. “What’s your issue with Jaune? You were being all fussy before but now you’re cooperating.”

Weiss’ eyes flashed with anger. “I’m  _ tolerating _ him. For now. He is a buffoon in many regards and if circumstances were different, we’d already be at the temple.”

“So why help him?”

Her expression turned sour as if she ate a lemon. “Against my better judgement, I sympathize a bit with his problems, and I can respect his drive to get into Beacon despite all this. Nothing more.”

_ ‘At least she’s not completely heartless,’ _ Ruby thought. Much as she wanted to ask more about said sympathies, she decided to switch to a safer topic. “Are you going to give him those autographs he asked for?”

Weiss’ mouth twitched. “If he makes it into Beacon, I’ll consider it. I’m surprised that’s what he knows me as, considering -”

_ Snap! _

_ Fwoosh! _

Ruby and Weiss yelped as the two of them were suddenly entangled in a net and hoisted up high. The two of them wrestled and shifted as best they could, but it was difficult as the net seemed to only restrain them tighter the more they struggled.

“Get your elbow out of my ribs!”

“Move your knee out of my face!

“You’re squishing my hand!”

“Don’t put that there!”

Their struggling stopped as they heard something crash through the bushes towards them. A tanned figure leapt out, wielding a custom bolt action rifle and pointing it at them. 

“Gotcha, Jaune! You can’t escape...” She put down the gun and frowned deeply. “You’re not my prey.”

“Of course not, we’re huntresses!” Weiss cried out. “ Let us down!”

“Another good trap ruined,” the figure grumbled as she pulled out a knife and unceremoniously cut the rope.

Ruby and Weiss fell screaming onto their butts and backs. Their auras took most of the damage, but it still hurt. Now that she wasn’t wrapped up like a pretzel, Ruby got a better look at the trapper, and then immediately wished she didn’t. Not because the girl was ugly or anything, but  _ there was so much skin showing. _ Did the girl even realize her shirt (for a  _ very _ loose definition of the term) was floating up a bit in the breeze? Where were her clothes?

Weiss had similar sentiments if her choked sputtering was anything to go by. “What are you  _ wearing _ ?”

The tan girl looked down, unashamed and bemused, and replied, “These are my hunting clothes.” She looked back up. “If you’re huntresses, why are you wearing dresses?”

“Combat Skirts!” Both Ruby and Weiss said in unison. 

“Still too frilly for a hunt.” The girl then gave a wolfish grin and said, “Anyways, name’s Minneapolis but call me Minnie. Don’t suppose either of you have seen a tall beanpole by the name of Jaune, have you? I need to drag his ass home.” 

First maids, now semi-clothed streakers? Wait. Wasn’t this Jaune’s cousin?

“Why?” Ruby asked, bouncing into a standing position. “What do you have against him being a Huntsman?”

“Me? Absolutely nothing.”

Ruby’s mouth opened and closed until she could squeak out, “What?”

Minnie shrugged. “I’d be fine if he was a Huntsman. He’d be a better hunting partner if he was.”

“Then why all this effort to stop him?” Weiss asked, now standing as well. “What’s so important that he can’t do this?”

Minnie took a long moment to think of an answer. “Because he’s meant for something else.”

Weiss’ lips twitched downward. “And because of that, you send maids and planes after him instead of, I don’t know,  _ calling the school? _ ”

Minnie looked up in the direction of one of the passing planes. “Yeah, Carolina probably went a little overboard with this. But in her defense, Jaune escalated things first by running off in the middle of the night after stealing the Duke’s sword.” She chuckled. “No one expected him to have the balls to pull a move like that.”

Ruby’s mind reeled with that information. Jaune seemed like such a nice guy, if a bit awkward like her, but to go that far to be a Huntsman? That was… kinda impressive, actually. It was a bit mean to fib about “borrowing” that sword, but would it be a fib if he returned it after making his own?

Wait, that was a noble’s sword?!

Oh, now she  _ had _ to inspect it properly after this.

“Well, you can forget about catching him because Jaune’s definitely going to get into Beacon!” Ruby said confidently. Jaune  _ and _ that sword.

Minnie raised a brow. “Oh? How so? We’ve got the sky covered. He won’t get far before being spotted.”

“Not if we distract them with Nevermores.”

“Ruby!” Weiss cried. “Don’t tell her that!”

… Whoops.

Minnie’s expression didn’t change, but her head tilted a bit. “Ruby… Rose?” 

“Uh, yes?” How did she know her name? Ruby was sure she hadn’t met someone like this before.

“So you’re the kid that Summer wouldn’t shut up about. I thought you looked like her.”

Ruby felt her heart skip a beat. Minnie knew her mom?

“Yeah, I knew her,” Minnie replied when Ruby asked. “She and her team were fun hunting buddies.”

“Could you tell me about her?” Ruby blurted out, pressing into Minnie’s face.

“I could.”

Ruby tried very hard not to roll her eyes. “Will you tell me about her?”

“Mmmm, nope!”

“Wha- why not?” Ruby felt her heart fracture at the denial. A source of info was right here and she didn’t have to wait for them to be in a good mood or drunk to ask!

“Because information isn’t cheap and my price is steep.”

Ruby pouted fiercely. “What do you want?”

Minnie ran her tongue over her teeth. “Summer was one of my better hunting partners. How about a hunting competition? Depending on how you do, I may tell you a story or two.”

Weiss started to object. “Ruby, we can’t-“

“Deal!”

“Ruby!”

“Let’s make it more interesting,” Minnie added. “We rustle up those Nevermores you wanted and have ourselves a good turkey shoot before Bataan takes them all out.”

“I thought you were trying to catch Jaune?” Weiss asked.

“I am, but the others can handle him easily. I’m only here if he puts up a fight. Besides, this hunt is the most interesting I’ve had in a long time.”

  
  


*****

“I’m so terribly sorry about squishing him like that.”   
  


“Hmmm, I’ll forgive you if you answer one question.”

“Of course!”

“What is your opinion on pancakes?”

“Do creeps, er.. crepes count as pancakes?”

“Hmmmm... close enough. Alright, you’re forgiven.”

“Wonderful! Now, would you please help me find my Honorable Master?”

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this out. Work has been kicking my ass and it's not letting up any time soon. Spent more than a few afternoons playing the heck out of Shadow of War to recharge myself
> 
> We're starting to get into the really fun stuff now. For those of you who were expecting Battleship Jaune, sorry but I did say I wasn't going to make him OP.
> 
> He will be getting a *boatload* of Aura at the very least.


	6. Maid to Order

Pyrrha made the right choice coming to Beacon. There were far too many fans and self-proclaimed rivals at Haven, the Atlesian military was too rigid for her, and Shade was… _Vacuo_ to put it nicely. She didn’t expect to escape all her fame and fans by coming here, but hoped there would be less of a spotlight on her with other up and coming Huntresses around.

Much to her dismay, there were still far too many stares for her liking since she set foot on campus. But then she bumped into Jaune.

At first, she thought he was being polite and didn’t think himself worthy in her presence like most fans would, but then it became clear that he genuinely _didn’t know_ who she was. Even at the mere mention of fame, he downplayed it like she was a minor celebrity. 

No more than a simple fashion model!

Pyrrha hadn’t felt this giddy since she won her first tournament. And even when Weiss practically spelled it out for him, he simply thought Pyrrha was just a wrestler he never watched. A novelty to him and nothing more. Right then and there, she knew she was going to be part of his team, if not his partner. Weiss was nice and polite, but Pyrrha could tell she was counting on working with The Invincible Girl, not Pyrrha Nikos. 

Pyrrha was sure her manager would be furious about such a loss in networking and revenue, but Pyrrha couldn’t care less. It was far more fun watching Jaune lead her through the forest like a dog on a walk. 

Besides, if her experiences taught her anything, the spotlight was going to be centered on him quite soon and few responded well to stage fright. It was only reasonable that she supported him in his endeavor.

“Hello, Jaune.”

And right now was as good a time as any.

***

Of all the people Jaune expected to have racing to drag him back home, Newcastle was nowhere near the top of the list.

“‘Cassie? What are you doing here?” Jaune asked, the familiar nickname slipping out. She looked so out of place among the bushes and trees, and yet there was not a hair or dress frill out of place on the maid. Were it any other typical maid, Jaune would question it, but Newcastle could look unruffled while splattered with pancake batter and strawberry jelly. She even had her usual patient smile.

“Sheffield brought me along, hoping I might chastise and then entice you into coming home. The carrot to her stick, if you will.” 

“That sounds like the carrot _and_ the stick,” Pyrrha commented.

“No, it’s definitely the carrot,” Jaune said. “Sheffield plays for keeps.”

Newcastle looked at Pyrrha. “Jaune, care to introduce your lady friend to me?”

“Oh, this is Pyrrha, my partner for Beacon. Pyrrha, Newcastle. She’s one of the maids that work for my family.”

“Pyrrha Nikos. Yes, I thought I recognized you from the covers of the sugary cereals Jaune used to eat.” Newcastle curtsied. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, but I’m afraid you’ll need to find a new partner soon.”

Wait, Pyrrha was on the cover of Pumpkin Pete’s? Man, she must’ve been a really amazing wrestler.

“Glad to meet you as well,” Pyrrha said, bowing her head. “But I think that remains to be seen.”

The two stared at each other and Jaune felt like he was missing something important. Was it just him or did the air just spark?

“As I’ve said, I’m here to speak with Jaune about his recent actions. Would you mind giving us some privacy? We have family matters to discuss”

Pyrrha twirled her spear. “Of course, but how do I know you won’t try to steal my partner away?”

Newcastle gestured to herself. “I’m hardly capable of whisking Jaune away all by myself. He’s rather heavy.”

Jaune looked down at his stomach and gave it a poke. Maybe he shouldn’t have had all those doughnuts for breakfast. 

“In that case, I’ll simply patrol the area if you don’t mind,” Pyrra said politely.

“Of course. We wouldn’t want any wandering Grimm to interrupt us, now do we?” Newcastle replied with as much politeness. 

Pyrrha kept eyes on her as she backed away before turning to poke into the nearby bushes, almost out of sight. The moment she was far enough, Jaune turned back to Newcastle, only to receive a smack upside his head by her umbrella.

“Ah! Cassie, wha- Hey! Stop that!” Jaune raised his arms in defense as Newcastle rained down the blows on him for a solid minute. None of the blows hurt more than a light slap, which meant the aura was working, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out her sudden bout of umbrella violence. At least she didn't use the pointy end. When she was done, he peeked at her with some shame. “I guess I deserved that.”

Newcastle huffed as she tucked away her umbrella. “That and more once your mother gets to you. You put her in quite a frenzied state the morning after you left. Honestly, not even a note left behind.” Newcastle frowned at him, sending a pang of guilt right through his heart.

“I was going to call after I got into Beacon. Promise!”

“Your father said as much, though it was under the assumption that you wouldn’t get into Beacon on time. Don’t give me that look. Punctuality has never been your forte.”

Even so, Jaune couldn’t help but cringe at his bruised pride. “Well, I made it in, didn’t I?” Somehow, that was the wrong thing to say as her frown only deepened.

“Yes, you did,” she said, “using _forged transcripts!_ Would you care to explain that, Jaune? I don’t recall you being taught to turn to crime for any reason.”

Jaune felt his heart leap into his chest. How did they find out? Did they know about Roman? “No, but Mom always said to use every resource available.” 

Newcastle raised an intrigued eyebrow. “Oh dear, and how did you come across this resource?”

Jaune pursed his lips. He said too much. Really, it was just a suggestion that a certain ‘privateer’ aunt gave him in passing. But she did promise him he’d walk the plank if he mentioned her involvement in his plan. Better play dumb. “Uhhh… Internet?” Not that dumb!

The flat look Newcastle gave him indicated how well she bought the lie. “You gave your Arc’s Word, didn’t you? Commendable effort, but horribly misplaced.” She sighed and shook her head. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I want to be a huntsman.” The answer slipped out unbidden from his lips, as if it was only a natural response. Which it was. “I want to be a huntsman, ‘Cassie.”

“Jaune.”

“What’s so wrong about that?” Jaune blurted out. “Why go through all this effort to try to train me, and then keep me from being a huntsman?”

“Because it’s not what you’re supposed to be.”

“Like hell it isn’t!” Jaune was startled by the sharpness of his tone, but the ball was rolling now and he couldn’t bring himself to stop it. “You and everyone else back home always talked about Grandpa like he was the best thing to ever happen to Remnant. You talked about his legacy as something I had to live up to. I want to be that hero too, but I can’t do it if I’m stuck behind a desk reading manifests and weather reports everyday! You want someone to file reports, then pick any one of my sisters! I’m going out to help people.”

“We need you to take up this mantle, Jaune. This role is more important than you realize.”

Jaune laughed bitterly. “Is that why you didn’t teach me about aura?” Part of Jaune hoped he wouldn’t see a shocked look on her face at the mention of aura, but he felt disappointed when she did. “Is that why Mom got me a fake sword and then had it sabotaged? Were you hoping I’d give up and crawl back to you? Sorry to disappoint you.”

“On the contrary, I think we’d be more disappointed if you did give up so easily.”

The casual response knocked aside Jaune’s rolling ball of frustration like a pool cue. “Say what?”

“I’m sure Sheffield will have my head for saying this, but there are not so few of us that do support your drive to become a huntsman. However, we understand that you,” Newcastle poked him in the chest with her umbrella, “are expected to fulfill certain duties and responsibilities, among other things, and as such they take priority. Your training wasn’t for naught, it just wasn’t meant for a huntsman.”

Jaune felt mollified to learn about the support, and yet the frustration was not abated. “Couldn’t you have just told me this before I decided to run away?”

Newcastle’s smile turned wry. “We would have told you years ago, but your mother decided you would be given the full explanation upon turning eighteen.”

His birthday in a few months. Talk about crappy timing.

“Will I still get the explanation even if I get into Beacon?”

“I don’t see why not, but it is rather bold of you to assume you’ll make it in today.” She twirled her umbrella casually, but the air about her made it seem as if it were a saber.

Jaune drew his sword and shield cautiously. “I told you, I’m going to be a huntsman. Now I have an initiation to finish, but can you answer one last question for me? Why was there a vampire in the basement?”

“Ah, yes, that was the last trespass you made. I’m afraid the answer is a bit complicated, but the best I can give you is that she simply lives there. You are going to have to apologize for the assault on her person and the theft of her sword when we return.”

Jaune wasn’t sure what kind of answer he was expecting, but it wasn’t that. He almost dropped his sword from the casual response. “There is a _literal vampire_ in the basement. She tried to eat me! Why do I have to apologize?”

“Because she’s your Grandmother.”

Jaune felt like a bucket of ice water was dumped on him. He tried to voice a response, but only choking sounds came from his throat. Newcastle said something he didn’t catch, and then he watched as she pulled out a bulky pistol, load it, and point it skyward. Some part of him recognized it as a yellow flare was launched high into the sky. The next thing he knew, something caught his ankle and pulled, flipping him onto his back.

The impact knocked the wind out of his chest and the pain pulled his mind out of its fugue state. Before he could move, a heeled foot planted itself on his chest and his sword arm was pinned to the ground by an umbrella. “Wha-? Newcastle, I thought you weren’t going to capture me?”

Newcastle gave him an admonishing look. “I said I couldn’t carry you away by myself, not that I wouldn’t attempt to capture you. I merely waited for an opportunity to call for reinforcements. I do apologize for the deception, but I’m sure you’ll escape if you try hard enough.”

“Do you mean that or are you saying it to make me feel better about being caught by a maid?” Jaune asked with a deadpan glare.

“I’m not one for violent solutions, so you have a fair chance at escaping,” Newcastle said with a shrug.

“Then allow me to help,” Pyrrha called out.

Newcastle’s eyes widened before she was launched forward off Jaune and clotheslined onto a branch. Once she was down, a bronze shield raced back over Jaune’s head to Pyrrha’s outstretched arm. Pyrrha then ran over to Jaune and held out a hand.

“I’m sorry about hurting your maid, but I wasn’t about to let her take you.”

Jaune grabbed her hand and pulled himself up. “Thanks for the help. She caught me off guard.”

“We need to leave before whatever help arrives.” As she said it, the sound of approaching planes could be heard.

“What about the Grimm?” Jaune glanced back at the bush Newcastle landed into. “I can’t just leave her here for them.”

“I’ll be fine!” the maid called out, her hand waving from the bush. “I do appreciate your concern though, but you should take your partner’s advice. An excellent throw, by the way Miss Nikos.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“A pleasure. Now shoo!” 

Jaune didn’t need to be told twice. With sword and shield in hand, he led the way toward a rocky outcrop in the distance.

*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long. Work has been giving me weird shifts and pushing for 10+ hour crunches, which leaves very little time to even focus on writing, much less actually write. I'll try to have the next one out before new years. Seriously, I want to get to the big battle of initiation


	7. All in the Open

It was a beautiful day for initiation, and Ozpin was up to something. That much, Glynda was sure of.

First, it was the early admission of Ruby Rose. She could forgive that. Being the prodigy daughter of the late Summer Rose, it wasn’t hard to see why Ozpin wanted the girl in Beacon. Though two years early was a significant stretch to cover, prodigy or not. But if it was for the reasons she thought it was, then there wasn’t time to waste waiting.

Then it was the Belladonna girl, squeezing her in with a promise of discretion for her continued efforts of redemption. Highly unconventional, but Ozpin must have seen the earnestness in her to allow it, though Glynda would have preferred some stricter restrictions. However, such thoughts were diluted when she saw that the girl was grouped up with the Schnee. 

And then there was Arc. A latecomer wasn’t unheard of, but his transcripts made up for it on paper. Now if only his behavior actually matched said transcripts. But that was what the initiation was for, to weed out the weak and fraudulent.

But the final nail in the coffin was when the Great War planes zoomed out from Vale over the Emerald forest. Instead of being the slightest bit concerned, Ozpin was utterly calm, almost like he expected them to appear. From her perch, she watched as figures leapt from the planes into the forest, and then the planes circled around in what appeared to be a search pattern. James would probably know better. Since then, Glynda watched through the forest cameras to see…

Three maids and a scantily clad huntress?

Whoever they were, they were looking for someone, judging by the traps laid out. Glynda had a nagging feeling that Ozpin knew who.

“Sir, they’re interfering with the initiation,” Glynda said, looking up from the camera display, currently focused on the Rose-Schnee pair. What were they doing with that strange huntress? Shouldn’t they know better than to get distracted? Killing Grimm was not the objective of their mission and now they were very off course from the temple.

Ozpin took a sip from his mug as he watched a different pair. “You know as well as I that missions hardly go according to plan. Rogue elements will be something that they will have to contend with.”

“Yes. Rogue elements that are under  _ our _ control!” Glynda all but shrieked. “If something goes wrong, I’m saddling you with all the paperwork.”

“Rest assured, I have the utmost confidence that nothing will go wrong.”

A loud Nevermore cry rang out, followed by the chatter of flying machine guns and large, muffled explosions. Glynda could have sworn she heard some yelling in the midst of the cacophony.

Ozpin took a long drink and pointedly ignored Glynda’s glare.

*****

Miles away, just out of sight of Vale and anchored in a cove for a quick getaway, Bataan stood in the flight control room of her manifested ship, filtering out the information her planes sent her of the Emerald Forest. Grimm, other students, and local landmarks were dotted across the map she made with pieces representing the team. After the first half hour, it turned into quite the battle map.

She had to give Jaune credit. He did well to avoid her recon planes so far. She chuckled at the thought of all their teachings being used against them. Jaune was smarter than he gave himself credit for. 

A part of Bataan did wonder how he managed the flights to Beacon with his condition.

Regardless, it wasn’t long before a flare had gone up. Judging from the position, it looked to be Newcastle that found him. She ordered the planes to converge on the area, crafting a new search formation.

It won’t be long until-

Bataan’s eyes widened as she hastily forced her planes to break away to avoid the sudden bird strike. Where the hell did these Nevermores come from?

More importantly, did they just try to peck her Hellcats out of the sky?

…

Jaune could wait a few minutes. These angsty chickens needed to know who the real eagle in the skies was.

***

“I can’t believe that worked,” Weiss said as she watched the Nevermores swerve and retaliate against the planes. Weiss had never heard of this ‘skeet shooting’ before, but when Ruby suggested using Weiss’ gravity glyphs like this, she thought the girl was being childish and ridiculous as usual. Unfortunately, Minneapolis had latched onto the idea as well and after a few minutes of badgering, Weiss had to relent. 

She was not at all curious about a possible new method of use of her glyphs, she just didn’t want them to be used for such trivial games. Dust was getting expensive to use.

“Wow, you really got some distance on those magic circles,” Minneapolis said with a whistle. 

Weiss frowned. “They’re not ‘magic circles’, they’re dust-infused glyphs created by my semblance.”

“Isn’t that just the same thing? Your magic power is making magic circles with magic crystals.” Minneapolis shrugged. “Tomato tomahto.”

Was this girl serious? “It’s completely different! Magic doesn’t exist, and semblances are a manifestation of an innate and unique personal power from our aura. More importantly, Dust crystals are not ‘magic crystals’!”

“Yeah, unless sneezing is the magic word to make them explode,” Ruby added.

“Sure sure.” Minneapolis waved her off and started to walk away. “Whatever helps you sleep at night. Those Hellcats are going to make mincemeat out of those Nevermores soon so we’re going to need to find some more.”

“I think I saw some this way,” Ruby said, ready to zoom off again. But before she could, Weiss grabbed her hood with a hard tug.

It was time to put her foot down.

“Ruby, wait,” Weiss said. “We need to head for the temple and get our relics.”

Ruby stared at her like she grew another head. “But, but what about Jaune?”

Weiss felt her eye twitch. “What about him? In the time we’ve spent doing this little hunting game you roped us into, he’s probably already made it to the temple and left. For all we know, he could have been caught already and then we wasted time for nothing.”

“I- Well- Uh-” Ruby sputtered out. She then whipped her head towards the tanned tracker. “Minnie! Jaune hasn’t been caught yet has he?”

“I think I saw a flare go off earlier so contact was made.” Minneapolis said, leaning against a tree. “Haven’t gotten word that he was caught though. He might have gotten away.”

Ruby turned back to Weiss with a hopeful grin. “See? We helped.”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “I’m thrilled to be of service. Now how about we help ourselves to finishing this initiation?”

“But…”

“But what, Ruby?” Weiss stomped forward into Ruby’s space. “We’re done here. No more games. We have nothing else to do than to finish this mission, or is that too complex for your brain to handle?” 

Ruby’s eyes grew despondent and downcast. Her body withdrew with every word. “I just wanted to…”

How this simple girl got into Beacon was beyond Weiss. “To what? Play around? Today is the most important day to enter the most important school and I’m not going to waste it because  _ my partner _ wanted to get distracted with a silly game in exchange for silly stories about her silly mother!” 

Ruby’s gaze was fixed upon the ground as she trembled like a leaf under the verbal barrage. Weiss mentally sighed. Ruby really was just a child in the end. No amount of skill could make up for an ounce of maturity.

“...-ack.”

“I can’t hear you over your mumbling, dolt.”

“I said,” Ruby looked up and Weiss had to stop herself from flinching, “Take. It. Back.” She sniffed once. Her eyes glistened with tears that threatened to spill any second. Her expression was a twisted amalgamation of anger and deep sorrow. The trembling that was seen as submission was now simply an attempt at keeping herself in control. “I don’t care if you talk bad about me, but don’t you dare say anything about my mom. I never got to know her, but everyone that did told me she was amazing; but they never bring her up unless they’re drunk. You probably have no idea what that’s like. You could probably buy several moms with all your Dust money but they’d never be half as great as mine was.”

Weiss had been ready to apologize a bit for overstepping herself, but those thoughts were soon trampled over and their replacements marched forward without hesitation. “Excuse me? Listen here you little red nuisance, being one of the richest families in Atlas doesn’t mean it's all sunshine and rainbows at home. You might need alcohol to get people to remember your mother, but at least your mother didn’t drink herself into a constant haze to forget her family even existed half the time! It must be so nice to have a mother that actually cared about you.”

Ruby reeled back as if she was slapped, but Weiss pressed on, flourishing her words like her rapier. “If you’re going to be so insistent on chasing stories like fairy tales instead of becoming a huntress, then our partnership ends here. Perhaps on your way home, you should try to re-evaluate your priorities and maybe consider a career change.”

Even as the last venom laced word left her mouth, a part of Weiss felt dirty for preying on the sensitive issue like Beowolf on a raw wound. It was something her father would have done. But what’s done is done and a Schnee cannot back down like a coward.

“Are you two done?” Minnie asked, appearing a few feet away with her arms crossed. Her expression was hard to read as she blew a bubble gum bubble, but she seemed a mix of bored and unamused.

“I believe so,” Weiss said, shooting a glare at a flustered Ruby. 

“Good.”

_ Chop! Chop! _

Ruby and Weiss yelped and clutched the top of their heads from the sudden strike. Weiss opened her mouth to speak.

“If the next words out of both your pie holes aren’t ‘I’m sorry’ then so help me I will use you both as Grimm bait!” Minneapolis growled out, eyes fixed onto them like an apex hunter, waiting for a single toe to step out of line. It was a look that Winter often bore during training sessions.

Weiss’ mouth clicked shut. 

“I expected better of a pair of Huntress trainees, but instead all I see is a pair of greenhorn brats that would rather fight like feral cats until the Grimm come calling.” Minneapolis paced back and forth as she talked. “If this is the best of the next generation of Hunters, then Remnant is in for a world of hurt.

“Ruby, no,  _ Rookie, _ ” Minneapolis said as she stopped in front of said girl. “Stand up straight. Look me in the eyes. Do you want to be like Summer? Do you want to be a Huntress?”

“I-I do.”

“I can’t hear you from under all that snot, Rookie!”

Ruby sniffed. “I do.”

“Bullshit, I don’t believe you. Louder!”

“I do!”

“Say it like you mean it!” Minneapolis roared. “Show me your war face!”

“I WANT TO BE A HUNTRESS!” Ruby yelled back.

“Then fucking act like one!” Minneapolis chopped Ruby over the head again, nearly driving the girl to her knees. “If Summer saw you right now, she’d be disappointed that you would throw away your chance to be a huntress just for a few stories. Guess what, Rookie? I’m not some fucking fairy that shows up once in a blue moon. I’ll still be around to tell you everything you want, but you have to hold up your end of the bargain by becoming a better Huntress. That means it’s time to quit screwing around and finish your mission. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Now wipe your face and quit crying. Make your momma proud.”

Ruby nodded and sniffed once more, wiping her tears away once the Huntress focused on Weiss.

“I’m only going to say this once, Snowflake, so pay attention or I’ll knock it into your frozen skull. That,” Minneapolis pointed at Ruby, “is your partner, for better or worse. When she trips, you pick her up. When she gets stuck, you pull her out.  _ Never _ abandon your partner because you never know when she’ll need to do the same for you. Right now, she’s younger and less experienced than you, so you need to shut up and show her the ropes instead of trying to strangle her with them.” Her glare bore into Weiss like a fire dust drill. “And you’ll do it with a smile or I’ll break that toothpick sword of yours off in that frozen ice block you call an ass.”

“Y-Yes ma’am!” Weiss had heard stories about drill sergeants from Winter, but they clearly undersold the pure intimidation she felt at that moment. Was this strange Huntress a former Atlesian military officer? No, Atlas wouldn’t condone that attire of hers in a century. Vacuo perhaps?

Minneapolis stepped back and gave them both an appraising look. “One last thing left to do. Now that you know how much you fucked up, I want to see some apologies. Consider it your first bonding exercise so make them sincere. Feel free to start with the family wounds you opened. It’s something you two have in common.”

Weiss chewed on the corner of her lip as she made eye contact with Ruby. Her Schnee pride wanted to stand firm, but it was still a tainted pride. To hold to it would be to spit in the face of every reason she took to come to Beacon. No, she had to start somewhere. 

“Ruby, I-”

“Weiss, I-”

They both balked at each other, but Weiss held her hand up first. She took a deep breath and began. “Ruby, you can be so childish, and dim-witted, and hyperactive, and more that I could list, and that’s not even going into your fighting style…”

“Is this going somewhere?” Ruby asked quietly.

“ _ But, _ ” Weiss gave her a silencing glare, “I can see that you have the potential to be a great huntress. I’m not… experienced in working with others, but if you can take a moment to stop and listen to me, I can make the effort to be… nicer. I got carried away before. I didn’t mean to belittle your mother like that. I’m sure she was an excellent Huntress.”

Ruby sniffed again, seemingly about to cry once more but with a smile this time. “Thanks Weiss. I’m sorry about what I said about your mom and your money. I didn’t… I didn’t know. I just... kinda assumed…” Ruby started to trail off awkwardly, but managed to fumble together a response. “If you ever want to talk about it, I’ll be here. That’s what partners are for, right? Like Minnie said, I’ll pick you up when you need it.”

Weiss nodded. “I appreciate it.”

Off to the side, Minneapolis nodded as well. “Good good. That’s what I like to see.” She then made a rather shark-like grin. “Now hug it out.”

Weiss blinked. “Wait, what?” But it was too late. She was tackled to the ground, arms pinned to her sides as he was embraced by a red blur.

“We’re gonna be the best partners Beacon has ever seen!”

“Ruby! Get off me! Stop! Did you just wipe your snot on my dress?”

It took a few minutes to get Ruby to let go, but in the end, Weiss felt like some weight was lifted off her shoulders. No. There was more weight, but now the weight was shared with her fri-  _ partner _ .

Friends do not rub snot over each other’s dresses.

Ruby’s smile was practically beaming at her, looking far more natural on her face than the broken sorrow did. It made Weiss want to smile as well.

‘ _ Maybe I’ll allow it. Just this once.’ _

“I hate to bring things down again,” Weiss said, “but now we’re even later than before. We need to hurry to the temple, which we still don’t know the location of.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan!”

“The way you say that makes me worried.”

“Oh relax, it was all part of the plan before we met Minnie.”

“... Now I’m even more worried.”

Minneapolis chuckled. “I think I know where this is going.”

“It’ll be fine. Trust me,” Ruby said.

So Weiss trusted Ruby. 

It was not fine. Ruby could not be trusted with planning.

*****

Yang learned a few things from Sheffield. Not anything she had beaten out of the maid, but more that the maid had beaten into her.

One, Yang needed to practice a lot more against small, slippery opponents.

Two, bullets made of dish detergent exist and taste terrible. Yang was sure that the maid was purposefully aiming for her mouth every time she swore.

Three, the maid has to be some kind of pervert, showing off her bikini wax like that while fighting. But it did the job of distracting Yang from blocking the axe kick, not that Yang would ever try such a bold tactic. 

But Yang was able to piece together a few answers to her questions. Okay,  _ Blake _ got the answers, but only because the maid was purposefully ignoring Yang’s banter. Same thing in the end.

Not that Yang would admit it, but it may have also had to do with Blake scoring more hits too. And Sheffield knew it.

First, and most surprising, Sheffield  _ actually is _ a maid. The Head Maid for Jaune’s family no less. What kind of family hires a maid with combat skills? Better question, why wasn’t she a huntress?

Second, Sheffield wasn’t actually trying to kill Jaune. She was trying to drag him back home after he had run away from home to “persist in his foolish endeavor of becoming a Huntsman.” And he stole some important family sword too. The maid seemed rather ticked about that, as far as her expressions went.

But to Yang’s surprise and relief, Sheffield was rather straightforward about her lack of panties. They were too restrictive of her mobility (whatever that meant), but it was clear that it wasn’t Jaune’s idea. 

Good. He can keep being Ruby’s friend for now.

“As amusing as it is to trounce you over and over, shouldn’t you be running along to finish your objectives?” Sheffield asked, dusting off her skirt. “I don’t think your teachers would appreciate tardiness.”

Yang wiped off some sweat from her brow. “My sister hasn’t gotten her relic yet. What kind of big sister would I be if I didn’t wait for her?”

Sheffield’s expression cracked for a moment, but was swiftly repaired to impassiveness. “Very well. I suppose there’s no point in indulging your attempts at keeping me occupied any longer.”

Yang’s eye twitched. She made a note to ask Jaune if this maid is always so insufferably smug. “I don’t know about you, but I can go for a few more rounds.”

“Not unless you’re willing to fight without shooting,” Blake interjected. “We need to save some ammo for the trip back, Yang. How many shells do you have left?”

Yang patted down her ammo pockets and frowned. Crap. She may have used a few too many shells this time. “Whatever, I’m down for a good old fashioned brawl,” Yang said, retracting her gauntlets. 

“Sadly, it won’t change the outcome.” Sheffield shifted into a martial arts stance that Yang couldn’t identify.

But before either of them could attack, a roaring screech pierced the air. The three of them turned to see a massive Nevermore on approach with a smaller swarm trailing after it. But what stole Yang’s breath away were the figures on the lead Nevermore. Ruby and the Schnee girl clutching the feathers on its back, and then a tanned girl dangling from the leg by a chain, whooping with joy as she swung around.

“Best. Hunt. Ever!” the girl cried out.

“Ruby! Get down from there!” Yang yelled up at them.

The war planes from earlier suddenly arrived as well, flanking in from the sides, and their guns opening fire upon the trailing swarm. The bullets shredded through the fledgling Grimm like paper.

“What are those fools doing?” Sheffield asked.

But she was never answered as another roar came from the side, down on the ground. This one belonging to an Ursa ridden by a pair of girls, a student and a… another maid. 

Were all of Jaune’s maids perverts?

A mistralian guy in green ran up out of breath like he was chasing them for miles, but his partner already left to grab a relic.

“I’m Queen of the Castle! I’m Queen of the Castle!”

Did that maid just snap the ursa’s neck with her hands?

“Please do not jest about that, Lady Valkyrie,” the top-heavy maid said, prancing over to her. “Usurpers of the Crown are dealt with severely.”

“Ha! Don’t be so serious, Sirius. Oh, Ren! You can be my knight!”

Yang turned to Blake and pointed at the group. “I’m not hallucinating, right? You saw all that too?

But before any answers could be had, there was yet another cry, but this one more human-like. The source of the cry soon appeared as Jaune sailed over the treetops, crashing into a falling Ruby and hurtling them both into another tree.

“Ah, there he is,” Sheffield said, but making no move to secure him, as if she was confident there was no escape.

The giant Nevermore cried out once more, this time in pain, as its throat was strangled by chains that anchored it to the trees below. It flapped its wings to lessen the grip, but in the moment it was held aloft, the planes shot it down like a crippled turkey. The brown and white figures fell from the bird, the former catching a ride on a passing plane, and the latter using dark glyphs to slow her fall. 

“Okay, I think that’s enough-” Yang started.

It was then that a massive Death Stalker burst through the forest chasing a rather renowned redhead. It gained ground quickly, but broke off when a _ third maid _ appeared (modestly dressed, but Yang was still suspicious) and held it off with an umbrella.

Why did Jaune have so many combat maids? Was there a secret Huntress school for maids?

“Jaune!” Pyrrha raced over to him.

“Pyrrha!” Jaune waved back at her.

“Ruby!” The Schnee dropped from the heavens.

“Weiss!” Ruby also waved back.

“Nora!” Nora added.

“ENOUGH!” Yang roared, her hair lit ablaze by her semblance. “Is there anyone else that wants to make a dynamic entrance? No? Good! In case you haven’t noticed, we have Grimm to deal with.”

Blake tapped her shoulder and pointed. “You mean those Grimm?”

Yang followed to see the Nevermore had crashed into a heap, slowly turning to ash. Likely broke its neck in the fall. The Deathstalker on the other hand was being handled by the three maids with the help of strafing runs by the planes.

Under normal circumstances, Yang would go help, but nothing about this was normal and so she took advantage of the distraction to run over to Jaune and Ruby as they clambered down from their tree. Well, more like fall onto their butts from the branches.

“Ruby! Why the hell were you flying on a Nevermore?” Yang asked as she pulled Ruby up and into a smothering hug.

“Wha- Yang! I was just trying to hunt some… wait.” Ruby gasped and flailed in Yang’s grasp for a moment. “Yang! Minnie knows mom! She knows mom!”

Yang blinked. All thoughts of chastisement were drop kicked off a cliff. “What? Wait, who’s Minnie?”

“Crap, Minnie’s here too?” Jaune said as he got up.

“Jaune, are you okay?” Pyrrha asked as she slid to a halt, but in doing so almost knocking him over again. “I’m sorry!”

“I’m fine thanks to my aura.” Jaune popped his back. “Ugh, now I know what an artillery shell feels like.”

“Your family sent maids and planes after you, by the way,” Yang added.

“I noticed,” Jaune replied dryly.

“What the heck is up with your family’s taste in maids?”

Jaune shook his head. “Don’t even get me started on that.” He frowned. “Wait, which maids?”

Before Yang could respond, a shrill voice called out, “Ruby!”

A very disheveled Weiss Schnee stomped up to them with a look of simmering frustration. She stomped right up to Ruby and shook a finger in her face. “Rule number one of our partnership: You are no longer allowed to make plans without consulting me first.” 

“Aww, but it worked out!”

Weiss’ eye twitched. “It almost didn’t!”

“Hey, cut her some slack, will you?” Yang growled. She wasn’t going to let some uppity diva bully her precious sister. “You’re still in one piece, Ice Queen.”

Weiss began to retort, but Jaune cut them all off. “Guys, you can argue about this later. We need to grab the relics and get back to the cliffs.”

Relics. Yang almost forgot about them, having already acquired her own. “I got mine. Last four are all yours.”

Weiss looked like she just ate a lemon. She shot Ruby a glare, but nodded at the ceasefire agreement. “Let’s go.”

The four latecomers then turned and dashed for the remaining relics, two knights and two rooks. Yang watched as they crossed the field, but something was wrong.

Why was it so quiet? What happened to the Deathstalker?

Yang’s eyes widened at what she saw. “Ruby, wait!”

_ Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
> 
> I said I would get a chapter out and I was determined to make it before the next year.
> 
> So! We're almost at the end of this arc. I'm kickstarting quite a few things here, starting with that little blowup between Ruby and Weiss. Was it a bit much? Maybe, but I got plans that need some groundwork to get going.  
> Plus, it'd be rather boring if this initiation was entirely 1:1 with canon.
> 
> Also, can I just say that writing Sheffield and Minnie this chapter was an absolute blast? It almost wrote itself really. 
> 
> The maids are here and Jaune is in the home stretch. Will he make it? Find out next time!
> 
> Please leave comments! Thanks for reading!


	8. Not Throwing Away My Shot

They were right there in front of him. Jaune poured on the speed, because once he grabbed it, he was basically home free. Just a little bit further…

“Ruby, wait!”

_ Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. _

The rook relic disintegrated a few steps away from arm’s reach.

The shock caused Jaune to stumble into the pedestal. “What? No! No no no no no.” He scrabbled for the pieces, but it was no use. The relic was beyond repair. 

“Hey! What was that for?” Ruby cried out.

Jaune looked up and saw that it wasn’t just his relic, but the other remaining relics as well.

“My sincerest apologies,” said a voice that didn’t quite sound apologetic, “but I’d rather not chance that you take pity on Master Jaune.”

Jaune turned to see Sheffield staring down the smoking pistol, her face lined with subtle frustrated tells. She was flanked on either side by Newcastle and Sirius, the former actually looking apologetic and the latter simply waving while keeping an eye out for trouble. Minnie was nowhere in sight, but Jaune had a good idea where she might be. Maybe.

Whoever the Vietnamese were, their forest hunting tactics were absolutely unfair.

“You couldn’t have just shot his piece then?” Weiss asked. “Now how are the rest of us supposed to get into Beacon?”

“I’m sure a charitable donation from the SDC would help your case, Miss Schnee.” 

“Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?”

“I am merely suggesting using a standard SDC negotiation tactic.” Sheffield’s face was impassive and her tone was factual as if talking about the weather, but there was a ghost of smugness about it.

Weiss looked like she had been shot as everyone else looked upon in awe. “I- You-!” She turned to Jaune with a furious gaze. “Jaune, can’t you keep your maids under control?” Weiss yelled.

Dropping the pieces from his hands, Jaune drew his sword and shield. “You’re making a lot of assumptions there- Hey!” Jaune raised his shield up as several rubber bullets pinged off in automatic fire. From behind his shield, Jaune shot Weiss a look to say  _ ‘See what I mean?’ _

“With all due respect, Master Jaune, be quiet,” Sheffield said curtly, raising her smoking gun up. “You’ve caused enough trouble already with this wild goose chase of yours, and it’s time to put an end to it. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and there’s no escape now. Your best option is to come quietly and pray we find your mother in a good mood.”

A part of Jaune quailed at the thought of being brought before Mom again, but his resolve was kept firm as Newcastle’s words echoed in his mind. “And if I say no?”

Sheffield’s eyes narrowed. “Then we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.”

_ ‘Isn’t me surrendering supposed to be the easy way?’ _ Jaune thought. His eyes flicked to Newcastle to Sirius and back to Sheffield. The hard way definitely involved fighting Sirius, no doubt. He wouldn’t stand a chance. “What’s the easy way?”

“Just a spot of nightcap, really,” Newcastle said. She put a hand to her lips and let out a piercing whistle. Jaune felt his aura go up out of reflexive caution.

And not a second too soon as something pointy jabbed at his neck, the tip dulled by the aura, before bouncing off like a lawn dart.

Aura is awesome.

Every maid’s eyes widened in shock. There was a distant “What the fuck” followed by the sound of a hunter falling out of a tree. 

Jaune looked down at the object, then up at Sheffield. “Did you just try to use a horse tranquilizer on me? Seriously?”

“Dude, are you sure she’s not a former assassin or something?” Yang asked.

“She’s ex-military as far as I know,” he replied. “My money was on former Atlas Specialist.”

“I guess that makes her a Commando, then?” Yang’s suggestive tone was lost on most of the group, but Jaune gave a resigned sigh.

Sheffield ignored their comments. “It seems you are full of surprises, and far more resourceful than I gave you credit for, Master Jaune. Perhaps those comics haven’t completely rotted your brain yet.”

“Thanks, I try to be a nuisance for you,” Jaune said dryly.

“You are, as always.” Sheffield began to professionally swap out her rubber pistol ammo for live rounds. “Unfortunately for you, this just means we don’t have to hold back as much anymore to capture you.”

“Then it’s fortunate that I don’t have to hold back as much either to stop that,” Pyrrha said as she stepped forth. She leaned into a defensive stance, shield forward and sword at the ready behind it. “This is my partner you’re trying to take away. If you want him, you’ll have to get through me first.”

As emasculating as it was needing to be saved by her, Jaune knew without a shadow of a doubt he wouldn’t be able to save himself. Aura couldn’t fix his lack of sword skills.  _ ‘I really need to find some way to repay these girls,’ _ he thought as he tried to mimic her form.

“You go girl!” Nora cheered. “Fight for your man!”

Was it just him or did Pyrrha’s face get a bit red? It has been sunny today. She probably forgot her sunscreen.

“Sirius, deal with this interloper.”

“Fear not, Honorable Master, I shall reclaim you from this amazon!” Sirius proclaimed as she bouncily skipped forward. She then began to reach into her cleavage.

“Ren, don’t look!” Nora said, covering her partner’s eyes.

“What’s she going to do? Polish Pyrrha’s shield?” Weiss snarked rather irately. Jaune couldn’t tell, but her eye seemed to be twitching a lot.

As if to answer her question, Sirius finally pulled out her hand. And pulled. And pulled. Until she finally got the tip of her massive gilded greatsword out from the cavernous valley of her bosom.

_ “WHAT AND HOW?!” _

Yang’s outburst made up for the silent, gobsmacked expressions from every female (Ren missed the reveal thanks to Nora).

Jaune, on the other hand… he was just confused about their confusion. He wasn’t sure what was so surprising about it. Every girl he knew could do that trick. 

“Here I come, Master! Please grant me strength!” With surprising grace that belied her weapon, Sirius leapt forward, ready to strike at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha moved to block, but it was unneeded as Sirius was halted in mid air by a black glyph. 

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Arc,” Weiss said, pointing her rapier at the maid, “but your maid destroyed our relics and insulted me. Consider this my repayment.” With a flick of her wrist, she sent Sirius flying backwards.

Sheffield started to point her pistol at Weiss, but Newcastle moved in front of her, her umbrella expanded to block the sniper rounds Ruby fired at them.

“Yeah! We’re gonna kick your butts so hard, Ozpin will have to let us pass,” Ruby said.

“Cheeky brats.” Sheffield started to move again, but had to jump aside as buckshot tore up the ground in front of her.

“Oh no, we’re still not done dancing, Commando Maid,” Yang said with an eager grin. “No frilly bitch is gonna stop my sis from getting into Beacon with me.”

“Yeah! Let’s break some legs!” Nora said, pulling up alongside Jaune. 

Jaune gave her a confused look. “What’s your stake in this?”

“You two were going for the Rook piece, like ours,” Ren said, holding up his relic. “It’s logical to assume that you would have been paired with us as a team. Also, Nora really likes fighting.”

Nora raised her hammer over her head. “Less talking, more breaking!”

“Oh. Thanks for that then.” Jaune wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The air was thick with tension as both sides waited for the other to make the first move. Feet shifted around, eyes glanced between targets, and some people planned out their approach while others would simply charge right in. Jaune was going to just start swinging and hope for the best.

_ ‘Pride of a nation, a beast made of steel~’ _

The loud, obnoxious song emanating from Jaune’s scroll cut through the air like a heated knife, dispelling the tension like a slashed tire. All eyes turned to him and he flushed with embarrassment.

“Sorry, let me just…” he fumbled around with his pocket, the sudden attention making his hands jitter until he could pull his scroll out. He still almost dropped it.

_ ‘Bismarck in motion, king of the ocean, He was made to rule the-‘  _

Jaune didn’t recognize the number, but it wasn’t a telemarketer call. Still, anything to delay the inevitable. He pressed the button. “Hello? This is kind of a bad time right now.”

“On the contrary,” the Headmaster’s voice filtered through, “I think it’s best I stepped in now. Put me on speaker, please. I’d like to speak with the maids.”

Jaune pressed the button, but with no small amount of trepidation. As glad as he was for the interruption, he couldn’t help but feel he was about to get in big trouble, one way or another. “It’s for you, Sheffield.”

“Greetings. Miss Sheffield, is it? I am Headmaster Ozpin. While I would have preferred to speak in person, I’m afraid my duties keep me elsewhere. My apologies for that. I must say, you and yours have certainly made this initiation the most entertaining in years. All for one wayward boy.”

“What do you want?” Sheffield asked curtly.

“Just a few things. I would like to finish this initiation testing without any further interruptions. I would prefer to not handle the paperwork that might come of this. I’m also in dire need of a coffee refill. The first two, I’m sure you will cooperate with me.”

“And why is that?”

“Didn’t I mention the paperwork? Technically speaking, you all have already committed quite a list of charges that could be pressed should you keep being uncooperative. Including, but not limited to, trespassing, destruction of property, and public indecency. My deputy has been writing them up and it is becoming harder to keep her from simply calling the police. I’m sure neither of us want to deal with  _ that _ headache.”

Sheffield’s pout looked like she just ate the world’s most sour lemon. Newcastle had the decency to look ashamed. Sirius  _ tried _ to pretend she wasn’t a part of all this, but Newcastle hooked her arm with the umbrella handle before she could sneak away.

“No. No we wouldn’t,” Sheffield said, as if each word had to be extracted from her without painkillers. “We’re only here for Jaune, not these other pests. If you don’t want any more interruptions, then simply let us leave with him.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s not that easy.” Ozpin didn’t sound very sorry though. “According to my records, Mr. Arc is of legal age in Vale, thus his decision to become a huntsman is his own and so I cannot give him to you unless he happens to fail this initiation.”

“Somehow, I don’t think it’ll be that difficult to do,” Sheffield said, shooting a scathing look at Jaune.

“I made it this far, didn’t I?” Jaune shot back.

“With a generous handicap and some devil’s luck.”

“What about personal skill and merit?” Ozpin interjected. “This initiation is meant to test our prospective students and weed out the weak and fraudulent, and as I understand, his transcripts are quite glowing. If he lives up to them, then he should be able to pass quite easily.”

It took every ounce of control Jaune had to keep a straight face as Sheffield’s piercing glare bore into him with each word.

“Since the relics were destroyed, the mission will need to be changed.” Ozpin hummed in thought for a moment. “Ah, I know. A VIP Escort mission. Not far from here is a bridge that leads back to Beacon. Miss Sheffield and her group will defend the bridge while the VIP and escort tries to cross it. Mr. Arc will be the VIP, of course, and the escort group will include his partner and any who volunteer.”

“We volunteer!” Ruby cheered out almost immediately, grabbing Weiss’ hand and raising it with her own.

“If my sis is doing it, then so am I,” Yang said. “Plus, I got a score to settle here.”

“This looks like fun! Count me and Ren in,” Nora added.

“I fail to see how this would challenge Master Jaune’s skills if he’s being carried across the finish line,” Sheffield cut in.

“I was getting to that,” Ozpin said. “Mr. Arc, as the VIP, your job will be to plan out, command, and execute the assault. You shall have thirty minutes to prepare. If you succeed, I shall argue for you to stay in Beacon. If not, I’m afraid that’s the end of it. Will this challenge suffice, Miss Sheffield?”

Sheffield took a moment to respond, her face unreadable. “Yes, it will. We shall go make our own preparations.” Sheffield and the other maids curtsied and started to leave. Before they went too far, Sheffield paused and turned her head back. “Now that you have your chance, try not to be a disappointment, Master Jaune. Your punishment will increase on how poorly you perform.”

Once she was gone, Ozpin said, “Your time begins now. Good luck, Mr. Arc” He then hung up.

Jaune stared at the scroll. He had been right. He dodged a bullet, but fell into the deep end with an anchor tied to his feet. This was definitely the end of the line of his huntsman career. Minnie and the others may have taught him a lot, but he was far from ready to face them like this. It would take a miracle to pull out a win.

Before he could fall deeper into his despair, a bright voice jostled him back to reality. “So what’s the plan, Fearless Leader?”

Jaune looked up to see Nora smiling at him with her hammer across her shoulders, her partner standing right beside her waiting for orders. The others, after a quick glance, showed similar, expectant expressions, but some were a bit happier than others.

They were all complete strangers, and yet, in a way, it felt like Jaune never left home. That meant he needed to live up to their expectations, surpass them, and do it five minutes ago. But this time, they were working with him. 

“Well, first off, I just wanna say I’m really sorry for dragging you all into my problems,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting things to get this bad. I promise to make it up to you after this.”

“You can start by getting us into Beacon,” Weiss said, crossing her arms.

“I want your cousin’s scroll number!” Ruby added.

“I want to know where the hell that maid was keeping her sword.”

“I have… questions for Sheffield.”

“I will take payments in Maid-made pancakes!”

Only Ren and Pyrrha stayed silent, content smiles on their faces.

Jaune nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.” He took a deep breath, and started to recall the lessons that were hammered into him. Though his family’s company operated on cargo shipments, it was still fundamentally militaristic and thus many of his lessons involved tactics and strategies on protecting those shipping lanes. Even though he wasn’t operating a fleet, many principles were still the same.

It was kinda funny, really. That little Mistralian book they made him memorize never seemed to apply to anything until planning his escape and right now.

_ “If you know your enemy, and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” _

“Okay, show me what you have. I need to know what I’m working with.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the games begin.
> 
> Just a little bit more until the end of this arc, and then I may take a bit of a break to organize things for the next one. I may also take some time to work a bit more on my Salem fic, and perhaps put out a rather silly oneshot crackfic idea I had. I do want to make more stories than just these two.
> 
> I just hope that work won't drive me into the ground before I do.


	9. Plan, Meet Enemy

Sheffield went through the motions of checking and cleaning her pistols. They were impeccable after the second time, but experience taught her that dirt and grime always found a way in. Plus, it kept her occupied while she waited for Jaune’s assault.

A pair of heels clacked across the stone and stopped just to the side. “You’re awfully excited, aren’t you?” 

“I don’t know what you mean by that.” Sheffield said as she peered down the sight of her gun.

“You mean you’re not looking forward to seeing how Jaune can command a group of girls after all the lessons we drilled into him?” Newcastle made an amused hum. “As the Sakura girls would say, you are such a tsundere.”

Sheffield glared pointedly at her pistol as if it offended her. “I see now why Carolina wished for us to not make contact with Ozpin. Despicable man, playing with us so easily. He reminds me of another annoying man.”

“Isn’t that a bit harsh on the former Commander?”

“No, not him. Someone else from long ago.” Sheffield shook her head. “Our old Commander was just an annoying scuff.”

“Truly, your romantic compliments could rival Shakespeare’s finest works,” Newcastle said sarcastically. “It’s okay to admit that you miss him. You know we all do.”

“If I did, you’ll never let me hear the end of it.”

“Hmm, true.”

But Newcastle was right. Sheffield did miss the old bugger. Enough so that seeing Jaune standing with conviction against the odds brought back a slew of buried memories. It was an emotional weakness that allowed her to be manipulated so easily by Ozpin. She hated it and cursed the Commander for making her feel weak, but she couldn’t help but hope for a return to the old days.

If only Jaune would wear an officer’s uniform instead of that old hoodie. And trim that ragged mop of hair. 

“Do you think Jaune will make it past us?” Newcastle asked.

“Given the discrepancy in skill, I find it unlikely.” Sheffield allowed herself a small nostalgic smile.  _ ‘But I have faith he’ll pull through for us.’ _

*****

Time’s up. It was now or never.

The maids watched from the central spire as the student figures approached the ruins of the bridge, sprinting from pillar to pillar, but staying out of the open area. The maids waited, for they were the wall that Jaune and his comrades would have to overcome, and so there was no need to strike first.

**

_ Jaune prodded at the map made in the dirt with his sword. “The two biggest obstacles in our way are Minnie and Sirius.” Jaune pointed at the sniper shell and shotgun shell respectively at each end of the bridge. “Minnie has to be taken care of first. If she stays entrenched on the high ground, she can pick us off. By the time we start, she’ll have dug herself in so we need to root her out. _

_ “That will be up to Yang and Nora, or Boar Team as I’ll call-” _

_ “‘Boar Team’? Why not Team Puma or something less  _ ‘boar’- _ ing?” Yang said. _

_ “Yang,” Ruby groaned. _

_ “Oh! What about that one Vacuo Grimm?” Nora added. “The Chupa-thingy?” _

_ “You are rooting out Minnie like a warthog, but that’s too long so you’re Boar Team.” _

_ “Lame.” _

**

The tension was shattered by a cry.

“Boar team, cover us!”

Nora popped out from behind her pillar, grenade launcher at the ready.

_ Thump! Thump! Thump! _

The grenades didn’t reach the maid, but they did reach the start of the bridge. It was there they popped and hissed like snakes as they released their smoky payload.

Sirius advanced and readied herself for whatever may come.

None shall pass.

**

_ “And how do you expect them to reach that far?” Weiss asked. “She’d see them coming, not to mention that neither can fly up the cliff.” _

_ “No, but we do have a Schnee Dust catapult.” _

_ “A what now?” _

**

Instead of the charge through the smoke, there was a sound of zapping and crackling. The first movement didn’t go through the front, but were fired up like a mortar.

Sirius and the maids watched with wide eyes as two plumes of smoke soared above them.

“Shoot them down! He’s trying to get past us!” Sheffield cried out, already firing her pistol.

Sirius made to leap after them but as she did, two things happened.

First, the smoke cleared to reveal two girls, not Jaune.

Second, a ribbon wrapped around Sirius’ ankle and yanked her back to earth.

  
  


**

_ “Blake and Ren, Cat Team, will need to keep Sirius occupied,” Jaune said. “She’s less of a maid and more of a bodyguard so you’ll need to be careful around her. She’s crazy strong. I’ve seen her throw a Bull Shark like it was a beach ball.” _

_ Blake raised a hand. “If she’s really that strong, why not have Pyrrha fight her?” _

_ A good question. Pyrrha told him she won a tournament once or twice, much to the disbelief of the others. He could have sworn they would know about her. Even if Pyrrha was as good as she said, he knew Sirius could be scary when she gets serious. “We don’t need to overpower her, just get past her. You two are ninjas. Just keep dodging her attacks and keep her out of the way.” _

_ “Okay, but why ‘Cat Team’?” Her eyes narrowed a bit at him. _

_ “Because you’re going to distract her like a cat,” Jaune replied, feeling a bit confused by the sudden scrutiny. “You have a ribbon. Get it around Sirius and it’ll take care of itself.” _

_ Blake deflated a bit. “Oh. Really?” _

_ Jaune nodded. “Sirius is ridiculously clumsy.” _

_ “Any other advice?” Ren asked. _

_ Jaune racked his brain for a few seconds. “Sirius can swing that sword like a toy, so try not to get hit by that. Also, Ren, don’t stick around when the ribbon goes on. Things get… weird.” _

**

Sirius pulled herself up and brought her sword up immediately to deflect the rapid shots coming from the cat girl and pretty boy. It was a struggle to stand up as the assault wouldn’t let her move far, more so when the two split up around her.

Not to be outmaneuvered, Sirius moved to take out the pretty one first. She brought her greatsword up for a swing… only to bring it back down when Ren leapt into arms reach. He had stowed his guns and favored his hands, striking at joints and limbs. It was difficult to block them all as her own sword got in the way.

It was during this fighting that Sirius noticed another group exit the smoke and rush past her.

“Honorable Master!” she cried in dismay.

**

_ Jaune dragged the tip of his sword through the dirt. “Once those two are occupied, the rest of us, Bull Team, will punch right through the middle. Weiss, Newcastle is the weaker of the two so you’ll handle her while Pyrrha takes Sheffield.” _

_ “Are you trying to imply something, Arc?” Weiss’ lips were pursed in a frown. “I’ve had quite enough insults today.” _

_ Jaune winced. “Sorry. Sheffield can be abrasive at the best of times. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” _

_ Weiss stared at him intensely. _

_ “Maybe a little,” Jaune added with a wilt. “I’ll ask her to apologize later.” _

_ “As you should.” _

_ Jaune hesitated for half a second to say, “I still need you to fight Newcastle. The sooner she’s out of the picture, the sooner you can help Pyrrha or someone else.” _

_ Weiss frowned. “I suppose that makes sense.” _

**

“Move to engage,” Sheffield said. She and Newcastle began to move forward to intercept the runners. Halfway there, they were forced to halt and jump to the side as a wall of ice carved a trail down the middle of the spire plaza.

Sheffield recovered quickly, only to find herself on the back foot as the Invincible Girl pressed the assault on her. There was hardly a moment to breathe as Sheffield dodged, parried, and blocked each unrelenting strike.

On the other side, Newcastle brought up her umbrella in a fencing stance as she parried Weiss' strikes. Though her defense held up well, Newcastle was pushed back step by step.

Neither side saw the last two people fly over the ice ridge in a ball of red and yellow rose petals.

**

_ “If all goes well, Ruby will use her semblance to launch the both of us across that final gap and we’ll be home free.” Jaune sheathed his sword. _

_ “Sounds like a solid plan to me,” Yang said. _

_ “You’re quite good at this, Jaune,” Pyrrha complimented. _

_ Jaune shook his head and gave a nervous laugh. “I’m desperate and short on time. I’m not some Atlas military officer or anything.” _

_ “I’ll be impressed if this crazy plan actually holds up,” Weiss said with a scoff. _

_ “Come on, Weiss. It’ll be fun!” Ruby bumped her shoulder with Weiss. _

_ “You’re just saying that because you don’t have to do anything but run.” _

_ “It’s so simple! What could go wrong with running?” _

**

_ Click. _

“Huh?” Ruby and Jaune looked down at the stone that shifted strangely under their weight.

_ Boom-Fwoosh! _

“Whoa!” “Aaaaahhh!” They yelled as they were flung back and away on a gust of wind. They found themselves landing in a heap back where the ice wall began, the air knocked hard out of their lungs.

“Ruby!” “Jaune!”

In one swift move, the balance had tilted. The distraction was enough for Newcastle to push Weiss back, and for Sheffield to take control of her own battle. 

Newcastle jabbed at Weiss’ arms, and then flipped the umbrella around to hook Weiss’ ankle. With the petite girl off-balance, Newcastle delivered a stunning kick that sent Weiss tumbling back towards the downed duo. “Did you really think it would be that easy to get past us, Jaune?” Newcastle commented as she brandished her umbrella.

“I was hoping, yeah,” Jaune wheezed out.

“Did anyone get the number of that truck?” Ruby groaned.

“I do hope you have a backup plan,” Newcastle said as she stalked towards them. “A leader should know how to adapt and improvise on the fly.”

****

_ Meanwhile... _

Yang had to hand it to Jaune. He knew how to get a girl’s blood pumping. Using smoke to cover themselves as they were launched off the Schnee’s Glyph-pult, and then falling back to Remnant like a blazing meteor? It felt like the first time she took Bumblebee to top speed, minus the ticket she got for it.

Shame he couldn’t pick a cooler team name.

But there was another reason her blood was pumping. Ruby told her this Minnie chick knew Summer, and if she knew Summer, there was a chance she knew Raven as well. And the whole point of Yang’s contribution was to keep the sniper off Jaune’s back. No one said she couldn’t try to capture the girl for a few questions. It was the same thing, really. How hard could it be?

“Will you hold still?” Yang shouted as she chased the tanned streaker around the cliff top. “I just wanna talk!” The only reason Yang wasn’t boiling over with frustrated rage was because she expected this kind of dodging bullshit now thanks to Commando Maid. But damn, if Minnie’s smug looks weren’t helping things.

Minnie only whooped in response as she leaped aside to dodge a swing from Nora’s hammer. In doing so, Yang was almost unable to stop herself from running Nora over.

“Sorry!” Yang had to dance aside before she could fully stop. She then watched as Minnie mocked them from across the field, shaking her butt from side to side. 

“Aw come on, don’t tell me you huntresses can’t catch a little wolf like me?” Minnie jeered.

“I think we need to change things up a bit,” Yang said to Nora. “We knocked her out of the hole, but I’m getting a little tired of playing tag.”

Nora nodded. “She’s a wily one, that Minnie. Got any ideas?”

Instinctively, Yang wanted to charge and chase the girl down until their legs fell off. Minnie was built like Ruby so she should be better at sprinting than endurance running. But now she had a nagging feeling that idea would be futile and may lead to a trap. No, if fighting with Sheffield taught her anything, Yang needed to play things a bit smarter. The question was, how does someone outsmart a shameless huntress?

“Got any stun grenades or something?” Yang asked.

“Kinda?” Nora patted a back pocket. “It’s just one and I was saving it for after Ren and I passed.”

Yang shot her a confused look. “Why after? Don’t you need it now?”

Nora waved a hand in a so-so gesture. “It’s less a ‘flashbang’ and more a can of compressed fireworks mortars that writes ‘We Passed!’ in pink and green lights.” At Yang’s incredulous look, she added, “What? Stun grenades don’t always work that well on Grimm and I wasn’t expecting to fight people today.”

Ugh. She had a point, but they needed some way to close the gap. All they had to offer was bangs and booms. 

Yang looked down at her gauntlets, and then at Nora’s hammer. Yang hummed as an idea slowly clicked together in her mind. It was dumb, very risky, and a little dirty, but it played to their strengths and Yang knew she needed every advantage she could get. “I’m afraid to ask, but how good are you at sneaking?”

“Better than you think, but not as good as Ren,” Nora said with a shrug.

“Yeah, I don’t know what that means, but I’ll take it as ‘good enough’. Here’s my plan…” Yang whispered the plan. “Think you can do that?”

Nora grinned enthusiastically. “Girl, I live for this kind of stuff. Consider your blonde butt covered!” She gave a thumbs up.

Yang returned the thumbs up and then focused on Minnie who had her back to them as she did some running stretches. Yang would have been more annoyed by the sheer arrogance had she not seen what Sheffield could do. These girls were in a league of their own, and if Yang had to guess, probably holding back a bit for the sake of this exercise. Yang popped her knuckles as she strode forward, a smirk hidden under her glare.  _ ‘I’m gonna show them not to underestimate me.’ _

“Done talking or are you ready to throw in the towel?” Minnie asked over her shoulder, springing into a stand.

Yang reloaded her gauntlets without breaking her stride. “Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t know when to quit. Right now it’s just you and me.”

“Is that why you’re approaching me? To get a first hand lesson in quitting while you’re behind?” Minnie began to tense up, ready to run again.

“I can’t catch you without getting closer.”

“Oh? Then try to get as close as you like!” Minnie shot off like a cannon for the trees. She was a few yards away when a smoking canister dropped right at the treeline. She peeled off immediately as the grenade exploded a second later, sending dirt flying. 

The stop and turn was enough for Yang to catch up with a few shotgun blasts to accelerate herself. “You’re not getting away this time!” she cried as she kept pace behind the girl’s flapping hood. Just like running with Ruby, only no annoying speed semblance to cheat. Yang fired her gauntlets every so often to the sides to keep Minnie from trying to break away again.

With Minnie under control for the moment, Yang locked eyes with Nora and nodded.  _ ‘One Nevermore. Two Nevermore. Three Nevermore!’ _ Yang fired her gauntlet once more, this time over Minnie’s head, forcing the girl to duck.

Yang’s hair blazed as her semblance activated.

“Hey now, what’s with the potshots?” Minnie joked over her shoulder. “Think you’re some kinda headhunt-”

Minnie’s voice cut off as Nora’s grenade burst mid-air between the two of them. Minnie stumbled forward while Yang, now powered by the explosion, leapt forward and tackled the girl. The two of them kicked and punched as they rolled closer to the cliff edge in a pile of limbs. Every hit made Yang stronger, ensuring a tighter grip on the girl.

“Caught you!” Yang crowed with excitement. Her plan worked! She was finally gonna get some answers! “I got some questions for you, and you’re gonna answer them.”

Minnie grunted as she settled into Yang’s grip. “That’s nice and all, but can you get your hands off the merchandise? Sorry, sweetcheeks, but you ain’t my type.”

“Oh, sorry!” Yang started to adjust her hold, but it was a mistake. Before Yang knew it, the split second loosening of her grip was enough for Minnie to slip out, leaving her red hood behind in Yang’s grip. When Yang realized it, she burned with anger, literally and figuratively. “Damn it! I had you!” She pounded her fist against the ground in rage.

Minnie didn’t run off again, but stood just out of arm’s reach. She leaned down, hands on her thighs, her chest heaving with deep breaths, and smiled at Yang. “You did, and that’s more than what most people can claim. That was a gutsy move with the grenade. My ears are still ringing from that.” She rubbed one finger in her ears. “Consider me impressed. What’s your name, kid?”

Kid? Minnie didn’t look that much older. “Yang. Yang Xiao-Long.”

Minnie’s eyes flashed with recognition. “Oh, Raven’s brat, huh? I thought that wild mane looked familiar. First Ruby, now you. Small world.”

Yang’s eyes narrowed as she stood up. Bingo. “Ruby said you knew Summer, which meant you might know my mom, and that you’re willing to talk if we got your attention. So, anything else you might know about her?”

Minnie chuckled. “I know a lot of things, ‘Firecracker’. You’re gonna have to be more specific, so pick your question carefully.”

Simple enough. Yang had a handful she really wanted answered, but a lead now would be worth more later. “Where can I find Raven?”

“Camping out in the wilderness of Mistral, of course,” Minnie said as if it was obvious. “Don’t know where exactly. She likes to stay on the move for her job and all that. But I know a few spots she likes to come back to.”

Yang sighed as she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. The Mistralian Wilderness. Yang wasn’t sure what kind of job would take Raven out there, but this lead was worth its weight in gold. Yang hoped any future assignments would take her out that way.

Yang caught motion behind Minnie. Pumping her fists, Yang fired off a couple shells into the air with a whoop. “Look out, Mistral, here I come!”

“Are you sure there’s not  _ anything else _ you’d like to know?” Minnie asked teasingly.

“Oh there’s a lot of things I’d like to know,” Yang said. “Any chance I can get a freebie?”

Minnie shook her head. “Sorry, kid, but you’ll need to catch me again to get another shot, and I don’t like your odds of that right now.”

Yang grinned. “I think I’ve got a good chance. Nora!”

“Come to mama!” Nora cried out as she leapt for Minnie from behind.

Minnie tried to run, but Yang had shot at the ground near her feet, a fun trick she picked up from Sheffield during the practice spars earlier. Minnie’s footing was nonexistent, and that hesitating moment was enough for Nora to restrain the girl to the ground with her hammer.

“The Queen has caught her prey!” Nora crowed triumphantly.

After a few struggling attempts, it was clear the ginger grenadier wasn’t going anywhere. “I must be really off my game today if I could get caught twice by some kids,” Minnie said with a laugh. “Damn, girl, what do you eat to get these thunder thighs?”

To Yang’s surprise, Nora was unfazed by the term, but seemed to take it as a compliment. 

“Pancakes, fruit, syrup, steaks, eggs, pancakes,” Nora listed off. “The usual stuff.”

“So how about that second question?” Yang asked, ignoring the girl.

Minnie barked a laugh. “Nice try, but technically Thunder Thighs here caught me, so no dice.”

Yang shrugged. “Eh. Worth a shot.”

“Oh! Does that mean I can ask a question?” Nora asked.

Minnie tried to shrug. “If you want.”

“Do you know-“ Suddenly, Nora went stock still, her expression unusually serious. “I sense a disturbance in the Ren.”

Before anyone could act, Nora leapt off of Minnie and rushed to the cliffside to look down on the battles below. She then gasped loudly. “That man-stealing maid! I thought I could trust her!” 

Nora then backed away from the cliffs and drew her hammer. With her weapon aloft and a shrill cry erupting from her throat, she raced for the cliff edge. At the last second, she brought the hammer down and pulled the trigger. The resulting explosion catapulted her far before gravity took hold of her.

“Hold on, Ren! I’m coming!” 

Back on the cliff, Yang and Minnie exchanged confused looks.

“What just happened?”

  
  


****

_ Earlier... _

Fighting Sirius was going to be a good way to blow off her frustrations, Blake supposed. 

Beacon was a new start, a fresh break from her old, White Fang life. In retrospect, it was a bit too much to ask for nothing to go wrong. It started with Weiss Schnee showing up, and being just as bossy and prissy as Blake imagined. Then a mysterious maid  _ snuck up on her _ with a search party in tow. Then said maid spoke Blake’s last name without an introduction before kicking Yang’s ass handily. 

She had been  _ recognized _ and that alone set off a dozen alarms in Blake’s head, as well as sending her stress level skyrocketing. Jaune putting her on ‘Cat Team’ didn’t help in the slightest, but that could have been a coincidence.

The assault  _ should _ have been cathartic.

“I only wrapped your arm. How did you get tangled like that?” Blake asked for the third time. Really, it was only around the wrist to pull the sword away from Ren, but it ended up pulling a leg up into the mix and made the scene look like it came from a certain ninja-related novel. The maid dress only made it worse.

First the commando maid, and now a suggestive yet deeply devoted one. If Blake wasn’t so annoyed by how easily the girl fell into the ‘trap’, she would have asked what other kinds of maids Jaune had. 

Purely out of academic curiosity. 

Blake thought Jaune had been exaggerating about the ribbon’s effectiveness, and maybe had been a bit racist with the whole ‘cat and ribbon’ thing. But now... she thought he undersold it, and so she silently forgave the perceived slight.

Ren, being the gentleman, tried to avert his gaze, or at least attack from a less awkward angle. Sirius was surprisingly able to defend against him despite her restrictions, but his lessened attacks had the side effect of allowing her time to escape her binds.

“Jaune was right. She is strong,” Ren said after leaping back to Blake’s side. “The ribbon works, but I think we need something a bit more permanent.”

“The sword is the problem,” Blake said, eyeing the maid. “Do you have any spare ice or earth Dust on you? I have an idea.”

Ren reached a hand into a pocket and pulled out a small bag that clinked with the sound of a multitude of tiny Dust crystals. “A few leftover shards from Nora.”

“It doesn’t have to be much. I’ll pay you back later.” Blake picked out a few pieces, avoiding the bigger ones. “Be ready to bind her again.”

Ren nodded and took off to flank the maid.

While Sirius tracked his movement, Blake charged in, her weapon in sword form. Feinting with the sword, she brought her cleaver around the side, only to find the flat of the greatsword swiftly in the way. From there, it became a complex dance of feints, parries, and slashes. Despite how unwieldy the maid’s sword looked, Sirius moved with surprising elegance and grace, almost as if she was balancing books on her head.

But it was not to last. Blake pulled away just a bit, baiting the maid with an opening.

Sirius took it with a cry, bringing her sword down in an overhead strike to smite Blake. The massive blade cut deep from shoulder to abdomen, and Sirius’ eyes went wide as if she hadn’t expected the strike to land. Her expression changed to shock when Blake’s body turned to ice, trapping the blade within.

“Now!” Blake yelled from behind Sirius.

Ren leapt in, grabbing the end of the ribbon that Blake threw his way, and circled Sirius several times. First the hands, then her legs, and finally her arms. “Go!”

Blake pulled on his call and Sirius was swiftly separated from her sword and hogtied.

“Nooo! I cannot fail my Honorable Master!” Sirius cried out as she struggled in her binds.

“Oh no you don’t! Ren! Finish the job!” Blake threw the rest of the ribbon length towards him as he was closer to the maid.

Ren began to wrap the rest of the ribbon around Sirius to restrict her movement, and that’s when it all went wrong. 

Blake felt her eye twitch. “Are you kidding me?!” Despite what her eyes saw, Blake couldn’t comprehend how Ren got tied in as well. Somehow, it was the maid’s fault. Ren was completely befuddled as he struggled to escape the intimate embrace while Sirius could only blush in embarrassment from the contact. Her squirming was not helping things at all.

Blake facepalmed.  _ ‘Could be worse. I could be paired up with the Schnee.’ _

Her hidden cat ears picked up the sound of a shrill cry, one that was getting louder. Blake looked up and saw the ginger girl from earlier descend from the heavens with a righteous fury on her face, her burning gaze locked upon the bound couple like a jealous goddess ready to unleash her wrath.

A wrath that looked like it had a wide blast radius.

Blake suddenly felt very uncomfortable being so close by.

_ ‘I take it back. I’d rather be next to the Schnee right now.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to do. I finished a while ago, but work decided to put me on night shift for a week. Not fun or conducive for writing. I also had to do some after-polishing to make sure this was good quality.
> 
> Here we are. I'm excited. I should hope you are too. Jaune is better than he thinks at planning, but he doesn't quite know his maids as well as he thinks he does. Plus, as a good Clone once said "Experience outranks everything". Experiencing a landmine does put things into perspective.
> 
> For those of you who want to see more of the Azur Lane/Arc House, don't worry because I have so many plans for that stuff. Some that you might not even expect. I only hope I can do it justice.
> 
> See you next time! Please leave a comment!


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